


Cipher Psychosis || Bill Cipher x Reader

by YandereswithKnives



Series: Cipher Psychosis [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Action, Alcohol, Alex Hirsch - Freeform, Bad Jokes, Bad Puns, Bad Triangle Puns, Bill Cipher - Freeform, Bill Cipher Breaking the Foruth Wall, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Canon Jewish Character, Cipher Psychosis, Class Inequality, Class Issues, Cross-Posted on Quotev, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Cross-Posted on deviantArt, Dark, Dark Comedy, Dark Humor, Drama, Drugs, F/M, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Florida, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Gravity Falls Oregon, Gravity Falls Spoilers, Horror, Human Bill Cipher, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Infatuation, Inspired By Gravity Falls, Jewish Pines Family, Judaism, Major Character Injury, Major Character(s), Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Minor Pacifica Northwest/Dipper Pines, Minor Wendy Corduroy/Dipper Pines, Modern Era, Nudity, Older Dipper Pines, Older Mabel Pines, Oregon - Freeform, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Orlando Florida, Patriarchy, Portland Oregon, Post-Gravity Falls, Reader-Insert, Returning to Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty References, Romance, Self-Insert, Sexism, Sexual Content, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spoilers - Gravity Falls: Lost Legends, Strong Language, Teenage Dipper Pines, Teenage Mabel Pines, Triangle Bill Cipher, USA, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, United States, YandereswithKnives, mature - Freeform, ongoing, reader - Freeform, upper-class, you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:30:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 105,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YandereswithKnives/pseuds/YandereswithKnives
Summary: Open your eyes. Take a look around. Can you see the colors? Can you see the patterns in the walls? In everything around you?This dimension is alive, it is living just like you and me. Every dimension is alive. That is until they die.He calls it liberation.I call it genocide.Lost in the fog of memory. His voice is there in my head, urging me to keep walking for eternity.The deplorable wallpaper keeps fading in and out of my view. One minute I see tacky pink roses on a mahogany red background, next minute I see eyes. Eyes that stare at me. But in a flash, it's gone, until it returns again.I don't understand what is happening to me. It's like I'm lost in my own illusion, not knowing what's real and what's not. I have no one to keep me company but him. It's tricky, being around him sometimes. I hope I don't have to endure this for much longer. The End will come soon, and then things can go back to the way they were before.I'm hanging in there.





	1. ▲ Introduction ▲

**  
**

** **

**Introduction **

* * *

Hey guys,

I just want to thank you all for taking the time to read this; it means a lot to me! I've been working really hard on this story, and I really appreciate all of the support and praise I have gained during the time this story has been on AO3! Thank you so, so much! Gravity Falls is my all-time favorite TV show, and I absolutely love the plot, and I adore all of the characters. So, to show my love for the show, Alex Hirsch and the fan community I wrote this fanfic. Hope you enjoy!

This fanfic has been heavily inspired by Rick and Morty, Coraline, The Ancient Magus' Bride, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls itself.

 ** _SPOILER WARNING!_** This fanfic contains major spoilers for Gravity Falls, Gravity Falls: Lost Legends and the Gravity Falls: Journal 3 hardcopy! If you don't want anything spoiled from the complete Gravity Falls series and wish to experience the stories for yourself, don't read this! Please go check them out before reading this story since this fanfiction takes place two years after the events in the show and Lost Legends. This fanfic even has spoilers for the non-canon story of Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure, so if you want to read that yourself, I recommend you go away and read that first before reading this. If you have already watched/read everything I have just listed or just simply don't care about spoilers, then, by all means, proceed ahead!

As a disclaimer, I want to warn you all that this fanfiction I have flagged this story as mature. I advise you to leave now if you are underage or if the topics listed below make you uncomfortable in any way. I want to make it clear that I **DO NOT** support the themes featured in this story. Please be mindful that the mature topics listed may change due to this story being incomplete. So make sure to check the disclaimers regularly since new mature content may appear in the future. Do remember that this story is intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken to heart. The predicted age range for this story is +18, but that may change along with the topics listed due to this story being incomplete. However, +18 is the overall predicted age range based on the subjects that are planned to come up in the story. I will not be held responsible for anyone's actions so if you are underage; there's obviously nothing I can physically do to stop you but do remember that this is your decision and I have nothing to do with that. Proceed on your own accord, but I will not be held accountable for anyone's actions.

\---

_**(This story is incomplete! These content warnings may change!)** _

**Mature Content:**

\- Strong language

\- Graphic depictions of violence and gore

\- Murder/character death

\- Masochism/self-harm

\- Suicide threats

\- Sexual content

\- Minor sexism and patriarchy

\- Mental illness (e.g., Stockholm syndrome, schizophrenia, insomnia, etc.)

\- Underage drinking

\- Underage smoking

\- Illegal drug use

\- Implied alcohol abuse/alcoholism

\- Implied drug addictions

\- Implied incest

\- Implied child abuse

\- Implied childhood sexual abuse

\- Implied underage sex

\- Implied rape/non-consensual sex

\---

These warnings may seem daunting, but this fanfiction was never intended to be sweet or cute. I envisioned this story with an exceptionally dark plot, taking the show of Gravity Falls in an entirely different direction as opposed to just barely touching upon it like the show does. I got some of the ideas for this story from the unusually dark moments and plotline in the show and decided that I would expand on that and make this fanfic more adult-rated. I've never envisioned Bill Cipher as a good character. There is just too much darkness in his personality and implied backstory. However, no spoilers but don't go into this story thinking that it is going to be a happy story filled with love, cuteness and 'fluff' (though there may be some). If the content warnings or the general idea of a dark plot unsettle or disinterest you, I'd recommend clicking away now. If not, then read on, friend!

This story mentions brands that you may be familiar with. However, the names have been edited, so the names do not directly link to any real brands due to trademarking (i.e., Nike = Hike). I changed this after I decided there were too many mentioned brands, and I didn't want to risk any legal trouble and raise questions and criticism. So they've been changed! If you wish to know which brand I am referencing leave a comment and I will reply as soon as possible.

Additionally, I don't wish to see any arguments or hostile behavior the comments. If this is directed at me or anyone else, then your comment will quickly be deleted. Everybody has three strikes. After that, you will be either muted or reported. That said, coming back to the disclaimer above; I also don't wish to see anybody or anybody's parents complaining about the mature themes. Like I mentioned before, you are reading this at your own risk, so any actions taken by you are your own responsibility. If you don't like this story, then click away and don't read it! Please don't waste everyone's time by complaining. Just like with hostile behavior, I will delete your comment as soon as it arrives. I don't want to sound aggressive, but I just want to make this clear to some people. On the other hand, I'm open to any nice comments, constructive criticism, or questions!

Due to this being the Wattpad edition, I will be moderating comments so I can monitor the 'troublesome' commenters. Don't worry yourself over it since it's only to prevent people from using vulgar words or writing anything horrible. In most cases, your comment will immediately be approved! Don't be put off from stating your opinion, whether you like the story or not! I will never delete your comment as long as it follows the guidelines listed below. I'm happy to hear your thoughts and whether you have any constructive criticism for me! Feel free to say whatever you want as long as you're being civilized and not wasting everyone's time. Listed below are the guidelines for what could (or in some cases, will) get your comment deleted so, please be mindful of what you're writing!

\---

**Comment Guidelines:**

\- No excessive use of strong language. (Limit strong language as best as you can. Since this is a mature story I will allow strong language provided the site does, but please don't go overboard with it. However, I will not tolerate any extremely offensive words such as the C-word, the N-word, or anything similar. If the word is used in the story, I will allow it.)

\- No spam. (No telling others to read your story, no links to any shady websites, no asking people to follow you on social media, no telling people to buy your stuff, etc. This wastes everyone's time and is not needed here so it will be deleted immediately. This also includes certain conversations. You are not forced to only discuss the story, but comments will be deleted if there is an extremely long conversation on just one or two topics. I would prefer it if we tried to refrain from clogging up the comment section.)

\- Be respectful. (Vulgar comments will get your comment deleted. This can range from insults to discriminatory comments such as homophobic, racist, or sexist comments.)

\- No giving out personal information. (Similar to spam, any form of giving out of your personal information will get your comment deleted. This includes things such as your phone number, email address, house address, ZIP code/postcode, etc.)

\- No grooming or predatory behavior. (This includes sexting, attempting to gain personal information, flirtation, etc.)

\- No controversial topics. (This includes political bias, opinions on people in power, religious beliefs, opinions on migration, the age of consent, etc. This can stir up a lot of never-ending arguments so please try to stay away from topics such as these. Stating your opinion is fine, since the story will discuss some big questions, but comments will be deleted when arguments or heated conversations begin to arise.)

\---

Last, of all, I want to note that almost all of the pictures in this story don't belong to me, and I do not take ownership of them. I created the cover for this story but the photo featured on the cover I don't take credit for. Credit goes to the original artist!

Gravity Falls is a Disney show that belongs to Alex Hirsch, and Gravity Falls and all of the canon characters belong to him. This story is a fanfiction that is non-canon to the original show with no official link to its original source. The fanfic itself and all of the minor OCs (Original Characters) in this series pertain to me. The real-life characters such as (Name) for example, belong to you, dear reader. The non-canon characters are listed below. Expect to see certain names possibly appear and disappear whenever this page gets updated.

\---

**_(Some full names have been removed to avoid spoilers! A full list will be provided when the story is complete!)_ **

**Real-Life Characters:**

(Name) (Middle Name) (Surname) / Reader

(Mother) (Surname) / Mom

(Father) (Surname) / Dad  


**YandereswithKnives OCs:**

Noah Damien (Surname)

Amelia Rosalina Martell

Alec Lewis Crowley

Charlotte Elizabeth Everlast

Karen Jane Ward

Ava Mortera

Louie Jack Redmond

Lillian Rose Vignola

Aeryn

Olivia Dale

Li

Zola

Mia

Tia Lyons

Skylar Lewis

Jessica Lewis

Abdul Khatri

Jack (Surname) / Uncle Jack

Margret (Surname) / Auntie Margret

Auntie Vera

Lucy Hellman

Riley Lario

Chris Ardman

Mitchell Marino

Harry Woods

Matt Capone

Howard

James

Co-pilot

Alec's sister

Mr. Lewis

Cook

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⚠️Mature warning! This story contains graphic descriptions of violence and gore, sexual content, strong language, and imitable behavior. This story could be potentially triggering. This story is not suitable for children or sensitive readers! Please consult the introduction for further details regarding the disclaimers. The predicted age rating for this story is +18. This warning may change. Read at your own risk!⚠️

Cover created by me, image featured in the cover is not mine.  
Gravity Falls © Alex Hirsch.  
(Name) © You.  
OCs © YandereswithKnives.

© 2017- YANDERESWITHKNIVES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Text copyright © YandereswithKnives 2017–

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

If you wish to contact me, you can either email me, send me a message in the comments or contact me via Twitter.

Email: YandereswithKnives@gmail.com

Twitter: YanderesWKnives

I hope you all enjoy the story, and I'm sorry for putting you to sleep with this!

\- YandereswithKnives

* * *

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[Click me.](http://themysteryofgravityfalls.com/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to this story being incomplete, expect to see this introduction change from time to time. I'm regularly getting new ideas so some names and story topics will come and go. Once the story is complete, the permanent version will be published with each topic and OC name being listed. If you have any questions that are not answered in this, then feel free to ask away in the comments, and I will get back to you as soon as possible! I will do my best to answer them straight away, or I may choose to answer them in a Q&A once the story is complete, or add an FAQ section to this introduction. It all depends on the type of question and how many people ask it! 
> 
> I hope you like this story! I have tried really hard to produce something good! Feel free to tell me what you think or if there is anything I can improve on! Please be aware of the warnings before reading this story so you know exactly what kind of mature topics this story includes!
> 
> This work is also part 1 of the Cipher Psychosis series. Check out Remnants and Summerween on a Sunny Day since they're both prequels to this fanfiction! 
> 
> Enjoy the story! :)
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	2. ▲ Prologue ▲

**Prologue**

* * *

&;amp;nbsp;

_"...Look at this diagram. An equilateral triangle always has three angles that are all exactly 60°. Because of this, angles AB, BC, and AC are all the same, and they all add up to 180°. To calculate the area of an equilateral triangle, you must use the formula..."_

You shifted your gaze away from the diagram that was being projected onto the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Instead, you began to gaze around the room, observing what the rest of the class were doing. You noticed that everyone in the room was either slowly falling asleep while secretly listening to music, quietly chatting with the people around them, rolling pretend blunts with the tracing paper you were all provided with, covertly texting or checking their social media while they hid their phones behind their textbooks. You turned to your 'friends' to join in on their conversation.

"So what are you doing over the holidays?" your friend Lillian asked with disinterest in her tone as she finished tieing her brunette hair into a bun. She was a very boring girl with a very boring life with very boring aspirations for the future. She wasn't very bright and lacked a personality. Her brunette hair looked very mossy in your opinion, and her dark grey eyes looked like they had been drained of their blue shade many years ago.

"I'm going to New York for three weeks! My parents have given me money to go shopping on Fifth Avenue! After that, we're considering a holiday in Fiji. What about you?" Charlotte replied. Her tone went from cocky to showing a massive disinterest within a matter of seconds, as she went from talking about herself to asking the same question she got asked.

Charlotte was the one you hated the most out of your group of friends. She was the most narcissistic out of the whole group but was also the prettiest, much to your annoyance. You and Charlotte were always in a constant struggle to see who had the better life, despite your complicated friendship. However, more often than not, you found ways to one-up her — whether it be by doing something amazing or lying to her face. She liked to find ways to bring attention to herself. You sometimes found her attempts to gain the attention of others quite funny. It was hilarious to see her struggle to survive in a social setting where she was not in the spotlight. Her wavy brunette-blonde ombre hair fell over her shoulders, stopping halfway down her back as her chestnut eyes bore into the grey ones of the less attractive female.

"I'm going London and then catching a train up to Edinburgh," Lillian replied.

"Where's Edinburgh?" your other friend, Karen, asked.

Karen was the third-wheel in your group. She would usually be left out of a lot of things and would often get ignored in most conversations. Her blonde hair wasn't hard to miss with the millions of freckles dotting her babyface. Her green eyes reflected the hurricanes of mood swings that she experienced on a daily basis, and her frown lines spoke for themselves. She was nice enough on her good days, though — similarly to Lillian — Karen wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either.

"They're both in England, stupid!" the grey-eyed girl restored, feeling slightly offended that the other girl didn't fully recognize her 'fancy trip to the UK.'

"Idiot..." Alec muttered. You held back a snort as Lillian looked at the brunette confused.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied before taking a sip of his coke.

You watched Lillian glance down at her lap before looking back up at the male with longing. It wasn't until she noticed your glare when she finally looked away for good.

Alec was probably the only person in the group that you genuinely liked. Despite him being quite lazy with little regard for the law, he was a very likable person. His short brunette hair was messy as ever, and his honey-colored eyes held slight bags under them due to sleep deprivation. He often wore the same red hoodie under his uniform jacket all throughout the week and was usually seen carrying a drink or snack of some description. Today, it was a can of Koca-Cola.

"Oh. So what are you doing then, Alec?" Karen questioned, with the same amount of disinterest in her tone as the other two girls. However, Lillian looked to be the only one interested in what he had to say.

"Sitting at home."

"Sitting at home...?"

"Yup," he replied before taking another sip of his fizzy drink.

"Okay, so I see you're boring as ever. What are you going to do then (Name)?"

Instead of looking disinterested, Karen looked as if she was going to regret asking the question. Her words caught the attention of Charlotte, who went from gazing at her phone to staring you down while patiently waiting for your response. You saw the challenging look in her hazel eyes as her face became slightly sour. You quickly picked up on this and softly smirked. It was fun to see Charlotte's face scrunch up like a raisin, so you decided to flash off your upcoming holiday, purely to piss her off.

"I'm spending most of the holiday in LA with my dad. He's going to take me to the airport, and hopefully, I can spend the whole summer shopping, getting a tan and relaxing in the hotel spa. It's going to be great!" you grinned. You sounded very conceited, but you were nowhere near as conceited as Charlotte was. So showing off once in a while never seemed to make you feel that bad about yourself when you knew that she was ten times worse and more.

As expected, Charlotte's face got mad, quietly muttered something under her breath and swiftly turning away. You smirked and secretly snorted at her childish actions before quickly regaining your composure.

"I thought you hated your dad, though?" Alec asked, a small amount of confusion gracing his features.

"I do, but I'm willing to ignore that for the time we're on holiday together. My dad's a real dick, but he's willing to take me on holiday, so it's either ignore it and go on an expensive holiday or stay at home with my mentally unstable mom and spend all summer waiting by the door to sign for her weekly deliveries of alcohol and prescribed drugs."

"And what's this about 'meeting some good looking men?' I thought you had a boyfriend?" Lillian sarcastically asked with a judgemental look.

"I do, it's just been a complicated lately..." you said, turning your head away.

The bell then rang, signaling the end of the school day. As soon as it rang, the whole classroom was suddenly filled with a symphony of relieved groans coming from your classmates.

You got up out of your chair and packed your bag before exiting the classroom with Alec sleepily following in your lead.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You tossed your bag onto the floor of your house before walking into the kitchen to find your mom desperately searching the cabinets while muttering incoherent gibberish.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

The frail woman turned to you to meet your confused face. Her face was drained of all color, and her stress lines were deepening even more into her face. She looked at you with an expression that was purely made of worry and distress.

"(Name)! Where are my Paroxetine pills?! I can't find them!"

"Relax, more pills are on their way. You ran out yesterday, remember? And your Ambien is coming as well, so calm down and have a cup of coffee!" 

Your mother sighed as she closed the cupboard and walked over to the coffee machine and placed one of the plastic disks into the tray and pressed the button.

"Your father called," she said as she watched the coffee maker pour the dark liquid into the small espresso cup. You looked up, suddenly interested.

"What did he want?"

"Wouldn't know," she sighed in her usual bored tone as she picked up the small glass cup after the coffee machine stopped dispensing the double espresso.

"Did he not tell you?"

"I didn't pick up the phone. No doubt, he was after you."

"Then why didn't you pick up?" you argued.

"I refuse to talk to him. If you want to find out what he wants, then you'd better call him yourself," she sighed wearily as she took a sip of her coffee. You rolled your eyes as you started to head to your room to get changed out of your uniform.

After about 10 minutes you returned downstairs in your Hike shorts, trainers, sports bra and overlayer along with your jacket tied around your waist. You turned your head to see your mom sprawled on the couch while watching the news with a stolid expression. The empty coffee sat on top of the glass coffee table that stood in front of the sofa.

"I'm going out for a run," you informed your mother as you shoved your earphones into your ears and unlocked the front door. All you got was a hum of an acknowledgment as you opened the door and exited the house.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

As you were out jogging around the park, you noticed a vacant bench at the side of the path. As you neared it, your jog formed into a walk before you sat down and removed your iPhone from your armband. You unplugged your earphones and removed them from your ears before going to the phone app. You scrolled down your recents to find 'Dad' before pressing his name and bringing the phone up to your ear. The phone rang for a few seconds before you finally heard your dad's voice on the other line.

"'Ello?"

"Uh, hi, dad. Mom told me that you called earlier and uh..."

"Oh, yeah! I was calling to talk to you about our holiday; there's been a slight change of plans..."

"What do you mean?" you asked as a wave anxiousness washed over you.

"Well, you see...work needs me to go to Seattle next week. And unfortunately there isn't any possible way for me to get out of it without making problems for everybody; so it won't be possible for us to go to LA on Monday..."

"How long does this trip last?"

"A couple of days."

"Then why can't we just move it to the week after that?"

"That is what I was planning on suggesting. You don't mind going on the week after do you?"

"Sure, no problem!"

"Great! Okay, so I will talk to you tomorrow and tell your mom I said hi!"

"Okay, bye!"

"Talk to ya' later, princess!"

You pressed the hang-up button before thinking about the change of plan. Moving the holiday didn't seem too bad. At least you were still going, right?

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"That woman is literal dog shit! How _fucking_ dare she!" Charlotte hissed, stomping over to the vending machine and almost punching the button after inserting a dollar. 

"Careful, you might blow a fuse," you dryly remarked, picking at your nails. You did your best to keep the sarcasm out of your voice, but it proved difficult when you were unable to keep the emotion present in your tone.

Charlotte turned to you and scoffed, "Like I give a shit."

You merely glanced up at her with a blank expression, before looking back down when her head turned back to the machine. You continued to lean on the wall as the machine slowly released Charlotte's drink. Though the school's vending machine was so broken from the rapid shaking and kicking from the rowdy students, it was so slow; it took twice as long as a regular vending machine to dispense something. You found it just as infuriating as the next person, but it was always funny to watch Charlotte get irrationally angry whenever she was craving a coffee (which was always).

"You absolute piece of junk!" she screeched, kicking it. It was especially funny when she was already angry and needed a cold drink to calm her down. She always had to take out her firey anger on something (or someone) and usually got irrationally angry at this damn vending machine when it was working too slow for her taste.

You had to bite back your laughter. Otherwise, she would no doubt start screaming at you and start an argument over nothing. Finally, the can fell into the lower compartment, and Charlotte grabbed her drink. You took a short moment to spare a glance at what she bought.

"Iced espresso, huh? Wow, you _are_ angry today," you remarked, with a small smirk.

"You have no fucking idea," she snarled. You watched her roughly pop open the can and take five deep gulps. She then moved the can from her lips and let out a sigh, trying to calm her nerves. It was almost remarkable how destructive her anger was. If you were ever on the receiving end, she would make sure that you were groveling on your knees by the end of the day. In conclusion — regardless of what topic you were arguing about — Charlotte was _right_ and you were _wrong_. That was just how it went, no if's, and's or but's about it, now get back in your box you ugly little slug. "You saw that fat swine! She totally has it in for me! She thinks that just because she's a teacher, she's all high and mighty. Can't be any more mighter than how those clothes haven't ripped!"

"Don't worry about her. I heard she's leaving at the end of the year so you'll no longer have to deal with her," you reasoned.

" _Good_! The fugly hag is leaving! Last time I saw something like her, _I flushed it_."

Charlotte took another two gulps as she began walking over to a nearby bench that you two usually sat on when she went for her daily drink of either water, iced tea or iced coffee. Since you had History with Charlotte at virtually the same time throughout the week, she would always drag you off to the vending machine between lessons so she could grab a drink. Today, you now had a free period, so you didn't have to rush outside and rush back in to beat the bell. You found your daily hydration runs with Charlotte to be boring and tedious, but there was no way out of it.

Charlotte's mood could change as fast as lightning, at even the smallest of things. She had a short temper and would blow up at nearly anything. You wondered if it ever got tiring to always have such intense mood swings. This trip to the vending machine would usually calm her down. The drink choice worked like this: water was for days when she was content, iced tea was for days when she was depressed, and coffee was for when she was tired or angry.

Charlotte let out a dramatic groan as she sat down, with you moving to sit beside her. As soon as you sat down, her head fell on your shoulder. You would have felt awkward or confused, but this was a regular occurrence, and you had more than enough time to get used to it, understand what it meant, and know what to say.

"Fucking Lillian has been talking shit about me again," she whimpered, crossing her arms. As soon as you picked up on her frustrated and almost sad tone, you immediately knew you were in for a session of aggravated complaining. And since you were apparently her best friend (when it suited her, of course) and there was no one else around to comfort her, you were the one who had the task of cheering her up. Otherwise, she would have a total meltdown, and that always came with trouble.

 _'Guess I'll have to play the sympathetic friend again. God, why do I do this to myself?'_ you thought. You could almost hear every little cell in your body sigh out in synced unison as you prepared yourself for something that you couldn't be bothered with but had to deal with anyway.

"What's going on?" you asked, wrapping your arm around her and bracing yourself for a dramatic little episode.

"The dumb bitch has been saying to Karen and Brodie that I'm mad at her because I didn't invite her to the party last week. When I approached her, asking why she was getting all arsey with me, she said that she thinks I'm mad at her after what happened with Aiden, bla bla, bla. But then, she went on to say that I'm a fake friend and that I'm 'only nice to her when I want something.' First off, what does that even mean?" she sneered, with a roll of her eyes, using hand gestures to go with her explanation.

_'It means exactly what it sounds like.'_

"And secondly! Like you're one to talk Lillian! The only reason you're in this group is because of Karen! If I weren't so nice, I would be telling her to get right out of my face! Anyway, I then told her that I think she's pathetic for thinking that and I go on to say these other things — load of drama. She then asks why I'm now insulting her, and I'm like 'I'm not insulting you, honey, I'm _describing_ you!' And then she got upset and ran off crying like she always does, and that was it. I'm sick of her really! I mean, why can't she just grow a brain and sort her life out already? Truth is, no one's going to care about her problems because every time she causes trouble, she starts complaining to anyone who'll listen! Eventually, she'll have to realize that no one cares. Fucking hell..." Charlotte sighed as she shook her head, rolling her eyes once more. "And now, I have to deal with her bitching because now... _everyone hates me_! _Thanks a lot, you little cow_! Just go kill yourself already..." she grumbled. You wished you could say her horrible comments weren't usual, but they were. You too weren't immune to talking shit about people but you did your best to not say anything too horrible that could get you in a lot of shit. Charlotte, however, didn't need to worry about this since she was able to charge at it headfirst, winning the battle with her two large bull horns.

You glanced down at Charlotte as she took another sip of her coffee, after getting riled up when complaining. The ironic truth was that Charlotte was blissfully unaware that while she was complaining about Lillian, she was also in some way, complaining about herself. You shouldn't have been surprised; Charlotte was a world-renowned hypocrite.

You sadly smiled and rubbed her arm in an attempt to comfort her. She let out another tired and frustrated whimper and wrapped her free arm around your torso, pulling you into a side hug. In response, you wrapped your other arm around her front. 

"Anway, how are you doing?" she sighed.

"I'm fine. Life's just been—"

"Oh my God! I haven't mentioned! Lillian's also the reason why Karen is so off ith me right now! She literally won't even accept that I don't actually have a problem with her anymore. Yeah, I thought she was annoying before but now that she's coming out of her shell, I don;'t mind her. But now...she's taking Lillian's side and is probably saying all this stuff about me," she groaned. "And then there's _fucking Brodie_. She hates me so much, she's literally out to get me!" she went on, spitting out her words with venom.

You sighed at the mention of the annoying girl, "Brodie hates everyone. She's a whiny, little rat that goes out of her way to seek out the attention of others. She's not worth the trouble. She's obviously just jealous of you. You're pretty, and you have friends, and it's clear as day that she lacks in both areas. Ignore her for now, but if she does something, we can put her back in her box."

You reasoned with the ombre haired girl and told her exactly what she wanted to hear. You had learned that this was the fastest way to cheering her up. What you said held both sincerity and dishonesty. Your opinion on Brodie was genuine, but you had to force out the last three statements.

"Thanks, (Name). You're basically the only real friend I have here," she sighed. "I'm sick of everyone at this damn school! Oh, and by the way! And it's not just me Lillian has been talking about. She's been talking about you as well, did you know?"

You frowned, "No, I didn't. Oh well, I'm not surprised, Lillian hates me."

"Did you know Lillian likes Alec?" she muttered, staring down at the floor.

"Yeah, I'm aware," you sighed, rubbing your temple.

"She's so fucking desperate. I've told her over and over again to just stay the fuck away from him, but she's not listening," Charlotte sighed, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"She's not good enough for him. She can't have him," you softly remarked, staring off into the distance with a clouded look.

"You two are so obvious. Oh well, you're my best friend, so I'll keep your secret," she spoke with glee, her mood brightening.

Charlotte then chugged down the rest of her coffee before standing up and tossing the can into the trash. You stood up and straightened your uniform skirt before turning to Charlotte. She beamed happily before pulling you in for a quick and sudden hug. 

"Come on, let's go find the others," she smiled, briskly turning around and walking to the doors. You let out a silent sigh and followed along behind her. 

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You sat down on the bench as Alec followed closely behind with his usual shopping bag of unhealthy food from Walmart.

"What have you got today then?" you asked, wondering what kind of junk he had this time.

"A large packet of Cheetos, some Starburst, a Mountain Dew, Reese's, chocolate M&Ms, some salted popcorn and a pack of Heineken."

"How much did you spend on all of that?"

"Roughly, $3."

"No way did all of that cost $3! Even for Walmart standards that's too cheap!"

"I shoplifted most of it."

"Should have known. But why the heck did you buy a whole Heireken pack?! Don't tell me you plan to drink that in the next half hour..." Alec shrugged as he removed one of the bottles from the pack. "I hope you realize that I'm not going to cover for you if you get caught drunk off your ass."

"You will anyway," he replied. You glared at the boy next to you, refusing to admit that he was right. "Anyway, I meant to tell you this yesterday, but I forgot, so I'm going to tell you now."

"What is it?"

"I'm going on holiday early."

"What? When?"

"This weekend."

"But didn't you just say that you weren't going anywhere yesterday?" you asked.

"I don't like those girls knowing stuff about me, no matter how irrelevant it may be."

"So in other words, you'll be leaving me all alone with Charlotte, Lillian, and Karen for the whole of next week...?" you sighed.

"Pretty much."

"What do you mean 'pretty much'? You're supposed to say 'I'm sorry (Name), I'll make it up to you'! Next week will be torture!"

Alec just stared at you with a bored expression and let out a small dismissive hum as he took a sip of his beer.

A small cheeky smirk appeared on Alec's face as you groaned. You quickly noticed it and suddenly felt a lot better about yourself. It was rare for Alec to show emotion since he usually seemed too tired to bother. You grabbed a handful of Alec's N&Ns and shoved them into your mouth.

You then adjusted your position, so you were lying horizontally on the bench before resting your head on Alec's lap. He didn't pay much mind to it as he dug around in his Flormart shopping bag. You closed your eyes as you basked under the sun and let the warm breeze blow past you. You were prepared to fall asleep if Alec didn't decide to speak up and interrupt your newfound tranquility.

"I wouldn't fall asleep just yet; you'll miss the show."

"Huh?" you asked as you opened your eyes and covered your face to prevent the sun from blocking your vision.

"Look at what's happening in the English classroom," he said as he opened his packet of Cheetos.

You sat up and looked over at the window that looked into one of the English classrooms. You quickly noticed the scene before you. 

It was your boyfriend, Louie. He was chatting with a girl who you didn't recognize. You watched him lean over to kiss her with a growing feeling of abhorrence as you blankly stared at the scene.

"I heard he's going to Italy," Alec said as you turned away from the window.

"Is he now? Never told me."

"I think that speaks volumes."

You didn't respond. Instead, you pulled out your phone after you heard it let out a 'ding.' You switched it on to see that Louie was texting you. You glanced back at the window again to see now see that neither him or the girl he was previously with, inhabiting the classroom. You swiped left on the message to open up the text conversation.

You reluctantly replied to his text before quickly earning a reply.

* * *

**12:24 AM**

**Louie**

_Hey, where r u? xx_

_Outside the front of the school._

_K, meet u there xx_

* * *

You groaned as you switched off your phone. Either he didn't notice your salty response or chose to ignore it.

"He's on his way over here."

"What a hassle..."

"Says you! You're not the one he's going to be talking to."

"His presence is tiresome," the brunette groaned.

"Well, imagine dating him..." you huffed.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"...Anyway, there is something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" you asked with a monotone.

"I'm going to Italy — or more specifically Rome — and I'm going to be there for five weeks. I'm spending most of the summer there, so I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out somewhere before I go?"

"We still have one more week of school. You're talking to me about this _now_?" you sighed.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering if you'd be interested since your friends told me that you're going to Los Angles for the whole summer..."

"Yeah, I'm going to LA with my dad on the first Friday of the summer."

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to Disney World?"

You had to admit; you liked the idea of going to Disney World. You hadn't been there for a long while despite not living too far from it. The main issue was, you were angry at Louie and weren't too keen on the idea of going with him of all people.

Though on the other hand, he would likely pay for everything. He was probably doing this to make sure you didn't suspect that he was cheating on you. Jokes on him, you already knew, you just didn't care.

"Uh...well I do like the idea of Disney World—"

"Great! How about this Sunday?"

"Look, I—"

"Sweet! Pick you up at ten!"

You were then left alone after he walked off, intentionally leaving you no time to object to his plans. It was always like this; he would always take control of the conversation and never let you get a word in.

You turned to Alec to see him staring off into space while taking the occasional sip of his beer. You noticed that in the five minutes you spent talking to Louie, he had already gotten through two beer bottles and was now halfway through his third.

You let out a sigh as you leaned back on the bench.

"Alec?"

"Hm?"

"You're so lucky you're single."

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You took a sip of your water as you carried on running on the treadmill, gazing out of the window in front of you. The gym you went to gave you a fantastic view of the pool. You felt a bit creepy watching the people who were swimming or lying on sunchairs below, but looking at the palm trees, and the shimmering blue water below was better than staring at the dull ivory walls.

You turned down the speed of the treadmill as you heard your phone begin to buzz from inside your pocket. You looked at the screen to see 'Dad' displayed on the screen. You immediately pressed the answer button and put the phone up to your ear.

"Hey."

"Hey, kiddo! How are ya'?"

"Uh, I'm good..."

"That's great! Anyway, I need to talk to you; it's about the holiday..."

"Are you moving the date again?" you asked with slight worry as you continued to walk on the treadmill.

"Uh...no. You see, I don't think it will be possible for us to go on holiday this year now..." your face dropped as you were filled with despair.

"...What?"

You could hear a woman's voice in the background, muttering something to your dad. You listened to him quietly respond to her before he brought the phone back to his ear. Although you could hear his voice, you weren't able to make out what he said to her, or what she said to him.

"Well, the company has recently been working on a new project, and they have asked me to give various speeches on it. The problem is, the seminars are held in Australia and New Zealand, so I have to fly over there and stay for the majority of the summer. I tried—" you walked on the treadmill feeling a little confused when he abruptly cut himself off, "...stop it, I'm on the phone..." he muttered to someone in the background before continuing. "I tried to get out of it, but it turns out that I must conduct at least two seminars if we ever want it to sell. On top of that, the Australians and Kiwis are already expecting me, so it would be hard to get out of it. I'm sorry but don't think I'll have time to take you to LA this summer..."

You inwardly sighed. You knew your dad had a reputation for being flakey, but now it was starting to get a little ridiculous. You knew summer was a hectic time for him but the last holiday you both went on was a trip to Mexico, and that was roughly two years ago. Fair enough, he made an effort to make it up to you by taking you out places on weekends, but it just wasn't the same.

"Is that okay? I'm really sorry; I'll try and find a way to make it up to you."

"It's fine," you said after a moment of hesitation.

"I feel kinda' bad. I'll try and organize another holiday for you; maybe you can go somewhere with your mom instead?"

"No need. You know what she's like, she won't want to go anywhere."

"Are you sure? I have an idea that—"

"No, it's fine. I have to go now, talk to you later."

"Okay...bye."

"Bye."

You ended the call and slipped it back into your pocket. Ignoring your disappointment, you turned up the speed of the treadmill and carried on running.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You entered your house again to see your mother sprawled on the couch. You walked into the living room to see her browsing Netflix.

"Dad can't take me to LA this year," you told her as you sat on the empty couch that stood in the corner of the living room.

"Told you that you shouldn't get your hopes up," she replied in a tired tone as she went to the TV series section, while never taking her gaze off the TV screen.

"You sure you want to start watching a series? You never finish them."

"Is that a reason why I shouldn't watch them?" she scoffed as she directed her gaze over to you with a mild glare.

"I'm just saying! Jesus, calm down..." you huffed as you leaned back on the couch.

There was silence as your mother flicked through the different TV series. She flicked past shows of many genres until she finally clicked on something to read the description.

You looked to see 'My Crown' displayed on the screen along with the image of a young woman wearing a crown.

You glanced over to see your mom reading the description and observing the reviews.  
  
  


_This fictional drama follows the story of Katarina, a young royal in line for the Russian throne. Watch how Katarina makes her ascension to the throne to become Empress of Russia while having to battle with a loveless marriage and the taboo temptations of the devilishly attractive Antonov Fyodorovich._   
  
  


You stayed silent as she pressed the 'play' button. The episode started playing as you slumped onto the couch, expecting the show to be super dull.

After a few episodes, you vaguely gathered what was going on and eventually started to take a light interest. You and your mother ended up watching it until it began to get dark, and when it got to around nine o'clock, your mother turned it off. She let out a sigh as she rubbed her eyes before getting up.

"You going to bed?" you asked as you watched her head for the door.

"Yeah," she muttered before exiting the room, leaving you alone.

After a few minutes of just sitting in the dark room, your phone lit up as it let out a quick 'ding.'

You picked it up and saw that Louie was messaging you, much to your dismay. You chatted to Louie for about an hour. According to him, it was meant to rain for the next couple of days starting from Sunday. After a bit of nagging, you eventually accepted his offer to go out on Saturday instead. 

After a long conversation on topics that you found more than just a little boring, you finally got the chance to make the excuse that you were tired and that you were going to bed. After a very long and tedious exchange of 'goodbye's and 'I love you's, you finally switched your phone off and began to make your way to your bedroom.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Saturday came and went. Surprisingly, you had a lot of fun, despite being in the company of your cheating boyfriend. You planned to break up with him then, but you chickened out in the end after all of the action. You were now sitting by the pool with a cocktail, silently regretting it.

 _'Great, now I'm going to have to tell him at school in front of my friends, no doubt,'_ you took a sip of the sweet drink as you continued to think of the easiest way to get out of the relationship, while hopefully causing the least amount of gossip and drama. _'I could try to find him during lunch. Hopefully, Alec won't mind...'_ you thought but then groaned in realization. _'Oh yeah, he's going on holiday early isn't he? Ugh, lucky shit...'_

You heard the front door open and close, and you figured that your mom must have returned from therapy.

 _'I'll have to leave at lunch to go find him. That alone will be a challenge because God knows where he clears off to. Knowing him, he probably goes off to meet with his friends and smoke a couple of cigarettes,'_ you leaned back in the chair as you gazed at the blue sky above you. _'Hell, maybe he even goes off to fuck that other girl in the bathrooms. Nonetheless, I need to find him; hopefully, then I can drag him off to tell him that I'm dumping him. It would probably be best I tell him and then quickly leave since there's no doubt he'll get angry. And, I'll also have to ask him to keep discreet about it,'_ you took another sip of your cocktail. _'But there again, he can never keep his mouth shut, so is there really any point in asking?'_ you sighed in defeat. _'God, when did I start worrying about relationships like some stereotypical teen? I think it would be best if I stop obsessing over it as if it's the worst thing that will ever happen to me, and just be blunt about it. It's not like he'll do anything, besides trash talk and by that point, we'll all be going on holiday so no one will really care, since everyone fucks off to get away from all the school drama. I guess I'll do it after school on Friday, so that way he'll have barely anyone to complain to besides his shitty friends, but who the hell cares about them...'_

You then turned your head to the right at the sound of heels approaching the glass doors that led into the house. Your mom came out with messy hair and smudged lipstick. Her clothes were also slightly disheveled, and your mind quickly concluded that your mother had been screwing her therapist again. You didn't know what she saw in him; he was middle-aged and painfully average. But from judging from your mother's condition, you weren't sure if she knew either. You decided to ignore her appearance and listen to what she had to say.

"Your father called me twice; he said that you've been ignoring his calls."

"Yeah, I have," you replied as you took another sip of your drink, feeling a slight buzz from the alcohol.

"He told me that he was planning to ask you whether you wanted him to organize another holiday for you."

"I already told him no."

"Well, it obviously didn't go to his head, since he decided to just go through with it and organize the whole thing since you didn't answer any of his calls."

"Of course he did..." you sighed.

"He also told me to tell you that he's organized for a jet to pick you up from the airport Tuesday morning. He said that he would organize with your school for the week off. You have tomorrow to pack your bags, and you'll have to out of the house for seven since your flight is at eight. I'll ask Ava to help you pack so you'll have everything ready for Tuesday."

"Dad organized for me to have this week off?"

"Yeah. He said that it would be his treat as an apology for LA. So he thought you would like it if you got an extra week of summer," she said as she made her way to the door. A smile crept onto your face until a question quickly popped into your mind.

"Wait, where am I even going and who with?"

"You're going alone to stay with your cousin in Oregon. I suggested that you go there since he can take care of you. He's just broken up with Amelia so I thought you could go keep him company for the summer," you slowly nodded your head still processing all of the sudden information. Your mother then turned away to re-enter the house, but she quickly stopped and turned back to you. "Oh, and your dad also said that there'd be a surprise for you on the plane."

After she said that, you were left alone. You felt a wave of excitement as you finished the rest of your cocktail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the Prologue to get the ball rolling! I like to add a Prologue when I feel it is necessary to let you all get to know (Name). Some of you may like her and some of you won't. Personally, I prefer to give her a personality as opposed to not giving her one for increased relatability. That's just my preference, but I have a lot of fun creating and developing a solid backstory and complex personality for the protagonist—you. Hopefully, this Prologue has given you a good insight into (Name)'s life and character (which will be explored more later on) before we fully jump into the story.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this introduction into the story! Hope you like what is to come! If you liked this, then leave a kudos and/or a comment with your thoughts!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	3. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 1: Onward to Oregon! ▲

**   
**

**Arrival Arc: Onward to Oregon! **

* * *

"Just hold up the clothes, and I'll tell you if I want to take it or not."

"Okay."

You lazily watched your housemaid Ava enter your walk-in wardrobe to pick up some of your clothes. You glanced at your Bouis Uitton suitcase that lay open in the middle of the floor.

You lay on your bed as you checked your phone to see that you had multiple texts from Louie. You rolled your eyes and decided to ignore him since you didn't feel like talking to him. He was most likely texting you to ask why you weren't in school that day.

Ava walked out of your closet with various T-shirts. She held them up for you to see and you observed each one before deciding.

"The white Tomi Hillfinger one and both of the both of the Malentino ones," she nodded and walked over to your suitcase and placed the three T-shirts into the bag after removing them from their hangers. She then went back to your wardrobe with the other two shirts.

You looked back down at your phone and scrolled through your Outstagram feed before seeing the photos of your trip to Destiny World on Louie's profile. You cringed slightly before hearting it and scrolling past to look at some other posts.

"Madam," you looked up after hearing Ava's voice to see her standing there with more T-shirts. You gazed at each of them before speaking.

"The black Zed Maker one, both of the Yugo Cross ones and the Lurberry one," she then went over to your suitcase and placed them inside.

This carried for a while with her going through your wardrobe and filling your suitcase. Eventually, it became full, and Ava then started to fill your other suitcases and your keepall. You sat on your bed as you messed around on your phone as Ava filled your bags with your clothes, pajamas, and other essentials.

"Hey," you said to your mom as she entered your room.

"Are you nearly fully packed?" she asked as she glanced at your stacks of suitcases, keepalls and other travel bags while you nodded your head. "And you're using the bags your father gave you," she stated with a sigh and a slight look of disapproval.

Ava then came out of your wardrobe and held up your Odidas Supermoons and your Bucci sneakers.

"Both," you said simply before she went over to one of your duffle bags and placed them inside before zipping it up.

"That's all of them, do you want me to start loading them into the car?" Ava asked your mother politely.

"Yes, that would be a good idea. Ask Mitchell and Harry to help you since some of them look heavy."

"Yes, madam," she replied respectfully before taking the lightest bag and leaving the room. Your mother then approached your bed while you placed your laptop and cable inside your laptop bag.

"The flight tomorrow is at eight, so I'm going to set your alarm for six so you'll have an hour to get dressed. We'll need to be in the car for seven, so we can get to the airport for half seven to ensure that you have enough time to go through airport security and meet the pilot."

"Are you sure there will be enough time?"

"I doubt the plane will leave without you, so I don't think it will matter if you're a little late," She said as she set your alarm. "And don't stay up all night messing around on your phone," she said as she began to leave your room, "I want you in bed by nine; you're going to need an early night because you are going to have an eventful day tomorrow."

"Okay," you yawned as you got up out of bed and entered your wardrobe to grab some pajamas before walking into your bathroom to get changed.

After you came out, you noticed that Ava, the footman Mitchell and the gardener Harry had already started to carry your bags out to the car. You watched Mitchell effortlessly carry your heaviest suitcase while Ava struggled to pick up the smallest duffle bag. Luckily, Harry came to her aid just in time.

You flopped down on the bed as you picked up your phone again and decided to text Louie back finally.

After ten minutes of listening to Louie talk about himself, he finally let you 'go to bed.' After you exchanged goodnights, you went to the Zoo app to make a quick Goodle search. You put in 'Gravity Falls,' and Goodle came up with about three relevant links. You clicked on the first one that took you straight to Trip Advice. You read about the place from the very brief and limited description and then proceeded to read the reviews from the people who had allegedly been there. None of the very few reviews seemed that positive from the ratings ranging from one star to three. You read some of the reviews from the people who decided to take time out of their day to write them.

* * *

_"The landscape was nice, but there wasn't much to do there."_ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

 _"The place is so remote; it only has one bus that stops there. I hated the lack of transport."_ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

 _"Kh lv vwloo khuh."_ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

 _"When I came here on holiday with my son, I spent a full hour trying to find it because I kept getting lost."_ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

 _"The place seemed slightly weird, but the locals were nice."_ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

 _"Seems alright, isn't anything special. Will not be staying for long."_ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

 _"Hated it, will never come again."_ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

 _"This place mentally scarred me two years ago!"_ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

* * *

You inwardly groaned at the reviews. The place obviously didn't sound that thrilling. You went back to Goodle and looked at the very few images of it. The area seemed to have a lovely landscape, but the town seemed very average. You attentively looked at the shops in the photo to see if you recognized any of them. You didn't. It was bad enough that there wouldn't be any places like Kalvin Groß or Fenni, but there didn't even seem to be any sign of any common shops like Flormart either.

You rolled your eyes as you switched off your phone and plugged in the wire to let it charge. You watched Harry enter the room and pick up the last duffle bag before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

You were silent as you clapped your hands to turn off the lights. You climbed into bed as your whole room got shrouded in darkness. You turned over onto your side as you pull the duvet over your shoulders before closing your eyes and relaxing on the mattress.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Your eyes snapped open to the sound of your alarm blaring in your ear. You cracked an eye open as you sleepily reached over and pressed the button before retracting your arm and reclosing your eye, ready to fall back asleep.

After a few extra minutes of sleep, you were woken up again by the sound of your bedroom door opening. You mentally groaned at the sound of footsteps approaching your bed. Before you knew it, you were being shaken by two hands as a familiar feminine voice spoke to you.

"Madam, wake up, you need to get dressed," you groaned as you sat up and rubbed the rheum out of your eyes. You quietly climbed out of bed as Ava scurried over to your wardrobe to grab something for you to wear. "What do you want to wear today, madam?"

"Just anything," you replied in a tired tone as you stretched.

Ava then came out with some underwear and a bra, some jeans, and a Varg Jacobis top. She handed you the clothes before you went into your bathroom to change.

A few minutes later you came out as Ava approached you holding some socks, some black boots, and a black leather jacket.

"Boots? Is there a reason why am I dressing slightly fancier than usual?" you asked as you put on the first sock.

"Your father expects you to look nice when out in public since you're representing him," she responded as she handed the next sock. You took it and put it on.

"I doubt anyone will see me."

"Trust me, people will see you," she said as she put on the first boot for you. The was silence after that as she put on your other shoe. She then took you over to your vanity so she could do your hair and makeup.

Ava brushed your hair and gave it some volume before moving on to apply your makeup. After about thirty minutes, you were finally ready. Ava then handed you the leather jacket so you could put it on. After you slipped it on you checked yourself in the mirror. Your face was covered in foundation and bronzer, and your eyes were covered in eyeshadow and eyeliner while your eyelashes were covered in a fresh coat of mascara. You looked at your lips that were now painted in your favorite shade of matte lipstick.

You then exited your room and started to descend the staircase. You quickly noticed your mother and Mitchell standing near the door waiting for you. Your mom was gazing at her reflection in the mirror while observing the shadows under her eyes with a downhearted expression. She turned to look in your direction as you neared her.

"You ready?"

"I'm hungry."

"You're having breakfast and lunch on the plane, but just grab a drink and an apple or something for now."

You nodded and quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed an apple and a breakfast bar before going into the pantry and grabbing a carton of juice. When you came back, your mother and Ava were waiting for you. Ava handed you your crossbody bag with your phone and other essentials inside.

Your mother grabbed her handbag and led you to the black car that was waiting outside your house. Your chauffer Matt was waiting inside the vehicle while Mitchell was standing by the car door, holding it open for you and your mom. Your mom entered the car first, and you got in shortly after while munching on your apple.

The trip went on for half an hour. You spent most of the ride either on your phone or chatting with your mom. When you finally got there, Matt drove the car around to the private terminal. After he parked the car, both you and your mom got out and walked over to your pilot who was outside waiting for you. You recognized him from when you and your dad went to Mexico together; he was your pilot then.

"Hello, (Name). Nice to see you again," he said with a kind smile and a wink as two male porters walked over to your car to get your luggage.

"Hey Chris," you returned the smile before he greeted your mom. He informed you that there was no need for you to wait in the lounge since the plane was all ready for you. He then gave you a brief introduction about your flight and went over the risks and safety procedures that you had heard a million times before.

After he finished speaking, you said goodbye to your mom and gave her a hug as you promised her that you would call and text. She also gave you some decongestant pills for the flight, informing you to take one before the plane took off. After you pulled away and waved goodbye to Matt, and earned a wave back.

Chris then told you to follow him before he quickly guided you through the terminal while the two porters followed closely behind. Eventually, you made it outside, and Chris took you over to your plane as it stood waiting for you.

The door was already open for you and Chris led you inside before informing you that the flight attendants would attend to you before he left to enter the flight deck. As soon as he vacated the area, you strolled into the passenger area and flopped down on the nearest couch and rested your legs. You then looked up to see a blonde, attractive young woman enter the room with a smile.

"Hello (Name), my name's Lucy and me and Riley are going to be taking care of you today. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, juice, water...?" you made your selection, and she nodded. "What do you want for breakfast? We offer a continental breakfast, Full English, and an American breakfast; you also have the option of customizing it as well. I can get you a menu if you'd like?" she asked before flashing you another smile. You returned the smile and accepted the offer of a menu. She then left and returned within a minute before handing it to you along with your drink, informing you to call her when you have decided.

You gazed at the menu with a relaxed smile as you read over the food descriptions and appetizing images.

* * *

**_Full English_ **

_Choice of freshly squeezed orange, pink grapefruit, cranberry or apple juice, two eggs any style, smoked streaky bacon, "rare breed pork" Lincolnshire sausages, black pudding, breakfast potatoes, field mushrooms, vine tomatoes, omelette with a choice of fillings, granary and white toast and a selection of preserves and marmalade._

_Also comes with a choice of teas and freshly brewed coffee._

**_Continental breakfast_ **

_Choice of freshly squeezed orange, pink grapefruit, cranberry or apple juice, assorted miniature muffins, Danish and breakfast crumb cake, pastries served with a selection of preserves and marmalade._

_Also comes with a choice of teas and freshly brewed coffee._

**_The City_ **

_Choice of freshly squeezed orange, pink grapefruit, cranberry or apple juice, freshly made warm waffles or pancakes, bacon, berries, crème Fraiche and maple syrup._

_Also comes with a choice of teas and freshly brewed coffee._

**_Healthy_ **

_Choice of freshly squeezed orange, pink grapefruit, cranberry or apple juice, fresh fruit salad with berries, Bircher muesli, natural yogurt with a selection of compotes and a freshly baked low-fat blueberry muffin._

_Also comes with a choice of teas and freshly brewed coffee._

**_Teas_ **

_English Breakfast_

_Darjeeling_

_Chinese_

_Japanese_

_Lemon_

_Earl Grey_

_Lady Grey_

_Vanilla_

_Chamomile_

_Summer Fruits_

_Jasmine_

_China Rose_

_Turkish Apple_

_Chai_

**_Coffees_ **

_Cappuccino_

_Americano_

_Espresso_

_Ristretto_

_Flat White_

_Affogato_

_Latte_

_Macchiato_

_Mocha_

* * *

Your eyes gleamed at the menu. You quickly called Lucy and asked her if you could customize the meal as you saw fit, and she nodded. You grinned and made your selection before handing her the menu.

Lucy then told to sit down and clip yourself in since the plane would be taking off. You took one of the pills from your mom before the plane began to take off.

After the plane took off, you got up to go explore the jet. It was quite small, as expected but it had three rooms connecting to the main compartment. You saw Lucy enter and exit through the room that was closest to you, so you assumed that was where the kitchen was. You walked over to the door closest to you and opened it to find that it was the bathroom. You closed the door feeling a bit disinterested before walking over to the door that was furthest away from where you were previously sitting. You opened the door to find that it was a bedroom neatly set out for you. The reality then came crashing down on you; you were on one of your dad's favorite planes.

You walked inside as you gazed at the pile of gifts that sat in the middle of the floor. You observed some of the boxes and bags and noticed that they were all from your favorite stores. You quickly grabbed the Giffany and Co. bag and opened it to see that your dad had bought you some bracelets and some rings. You then grabbed the big golden box with the black lace bow and opened it up.

Your mouth dropped as you pulled out a tiara. You quickly glanced at its description on the small piece of paper that came with it before looking back at the tiara. The metal was platinum, and the tiara was decorated with white diamonds and yellow diamonds in 18k gold.

You rushed over to the mirror as you put it on. You felt a wave of pride as you admired yourself in it.

 _'Best day of my entire life...'_ you opened the letter that came with the presents and pulled out the fancy piece of paper.

* * *

_Dear (Name),_

_I'm sorry I couldn't take you on holiday this summer. I feel quite bad about it, so I decided I would try to make it up to you with these presents. Do you like the tiara? It was meant to be your next birthday gift, but I couldn't wait to give it to you. Hope you like it, it cost your dad a fortune. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your time in Gravity Falls and tell Noah I said hi. I have also got some presents for him as well; they are with the luggage in a large black bag. Can you make sure he gets them? Thanks._

_Hope you are doing well, I will try to text and call you when I can!_

_\- Dad_

* * *

_'I guess I'll have to let Noah know that dad got him some stuff as well. But knowing Noah, I don't imagine he'll be too pleased...'_ you thought as you placed the letter on the bed and continued to work your way through your pile of bags and boxes.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You sat at the table as you waited for your breakfast to arrive. You were passing the time by watching more of The Crown on Betflix. You had started to really come to like Elizabeth, and you thought the actress who was playing her was very pretty.

You politely smiled as Lucy placed down your meal on the table before rushing back into the kitchen to get the rest of it. You went to the Goodle Maps app on your phone and put in 'Portland Airport' to see how much further you had to go. You saw that you still had ages to go since you were just passed Kansas. You decided that you would take a short nap after breakfast and catch up on the sleep you lost that morning. Lucy placed the rest of your meal on the table before informing you to call for her if you needed help with anything. You thanked her before you began eating your breakfast.

A thought came to you, and you quickly searched 'Gravity Falls' into Goodle Images to see what the landscape was like. Unfortunately, there were very limited photos, but you did find one that displayed some trees.

 _'I see, so it's covered in mostly forest. No surprise there...'_ you thought as you went back to Goodle Maps and searched 'Gravity Falls.' _'What the hell?'_ you stared at the screen with confusion when it came up with 'No results.' You attempted to search for it again, but the result was the same. You decided just to ignore it and put down your phone before you just continued with your meal.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

After texting your dad to thank him for the presents and texting your mom to let her know that you were alright, you entered the bedroom to catch up on your sleep.

You were in love with the goose feathered pillows, and the bed was super comfortable. So naturally, you fell asleep within minutes.

You were later woken up by a knock at the door. Another young woman came in and introduced herself as Riley and handed you a lunch menu. You tiredly made a selection and gave it back to her before rubbing your eyes and deciding to get up.

You entered the main compartment and saw Riley setting up the table for your meal. You walked over to the couch and pulled out your phone. You decided to read a book to pass the time until your lunch was ready.

As soon as you clicked onto your Mattpad app, Chris came into the room.

"Just to let you know (Name), we'll be in Portland within an hour, but there is no rush for you to get off so take all the time you need."

"Okay, thank you," you politely smiled as he returned to the flight deck. You turned your attention back to your phone.

You remained like that for ten minutes until Lucy came in with your meal. You quickly got up from the couch and rushed over to the table, eager to eat away at what you ordered. You watched Lucy and Riley come in and out with the side dishes and drinks that you ordered with your meal until they both went back into the kitchen.

You happily reached over and took a few gulps of your drink. But just before you could dig into your meal, a 'ding' came from your phone.

With the fork inches away from your mouth, you glanced at your phone.

It was a text from Charlotte.

"Oh fuck off," you muttered and switched off your phone, so you could peacefully eat your meal.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"(Name), we'll be there in roughly ten minutes," Chris informed you before quickly leaving.

You put down one of the Channel bags from your dad and walked over to one of the windows. You looked down and saw the world below. You wondered if Gravity Falls was anywhere near Portland. Though it wasn't like you could go look it up since it seemed as if the internet had barely even heard of it. But in truth, you weren't that excited to go. The place looked mediocre and kind of boring. When you compared it to what your summer would have looked like if your dad didn't cancel your plans at the last minute, you would start to feel the depression.

You picked up the Channel bag again and pulled out the perfume you saw earlier. No doubt that you would be landing soon so you would need to freshen up before you got off.

You quickly grabbed some of the new makeup your dad got you and dashed over to the sink. You saw that your lipstick had slowly started to come off, so you reapplied it with one of the new WAC lipsticks that your dad got you. You quickly applied a bit of blush before digging around in another one of the Giffany bags and pulling out some jewelry and some sunglasses. You suddenly remembered what Ava said before you left about people noticing you, and so you put on the rings, necklace, and bracelet. You admired yourself before putting the sunglasses on top of your head.

"Hi (Name), we'll be landing soon so can you get into your seat please?" Lucy said as she poked her head around the door.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," you turned back to the mirror and looked at yourself.

 _'Damn...'_ you smirked as you observed your own reflection. _'I really do have everything, huh?'_ you walked away from the mirror feeling your ego get bigger, _'Not bad looking, either...'_

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You stared out of the window as you watched the airport come into view. You sucked on a boiled candy that your Riley gave you to help deal with the barotrauma. You wished to take more of the pills that mom gave you, but your conscience convinced you to go against exceeding the proper dosage.

You went to uMessage to text your mom that you had arrived in Portland. Almost immediately you received a reply from your mom telling you that she was pleased the trip went well and to take care of yourself. You then put your phone in your bag as the plane made contact with the ground.

Within a few minutes, you were undoing your seatbelt and grabbing your bag. Your eyes unconsciously made their way to the window to see a group of people staring at your plane while some of them whipped out their phones and cameras to snap a few photos.

 _'Jesus, is a private jet that unusual around here? Or are they just tourists?'_ you wondered as you stood up and checked around in case you had forgotten anything.

"Your bags will be with you shortly, we're just waiting for someone to come collect them," Riley informed you while you nodded in understanding.

"Will that be the same for the bags in the bedroom?" you asked.

"Yes, we'll put them and the other batch of bags with your luggage, so no need to worry about anything getting lost or left behind," she smiled.

Chris then came out of his little room with another man following behind him. Chris quickly checked himself in the mirror.

"How do I look? Do I look okay?" he asked the other man who you assumed to be the co-pilot.

"You look fine you beautiful bastard," he smirked with a cheeky grin.

"Ah, come here!" Chris replied with a smirk of his own as he put the other guy in a headlock and gave him the biggest noogie of the current century.

 _'So that's what bromance looks like...'_ you thought as Riley looked at the two men with a look of irritation.

"When you two are done acting like seven-year-olds, maybe we can open the door?"

Chris looked up with sudden realization as he glanced over at you.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, Miss. (Surname)!" he said with a sweat drop as he opened the door before checking himself in the mirror again. "Gotta' make sure I look good for those lot out there. If they're going to take photos, there is bound to be at least someone who would want to see the man behind the magic!" he smiled as he brushed off the invisible dust off his suit.

"You'll never be Halt Destiny, sit the hell down," Riley said with folded arms as Chris dramatically gasped.

You silently put your bag around your shoulder as you put your sunglasses on. Chris jogged down and went out first while you walked out after him.

You glanced to your right to see the group of people gasp before quickly pulling out their cameras again to snap photos.

 _'They probably think I'm some sort of celebrity or something,'_ you thought with a chuckle as you descended the staircase and took your first step into Oregon.

 _'So this is Oregon, huh? Damn it's cold...'_ you thought as you hugged yourself.

In truth, it wasn't that cold at all. You were just so used to the heat of Florida that anything below 77° F was your definition of cold.

You gripped your bag as you looked at Chris to see him already chatting up some of the people with cameras. You sighed and decided to begin walking to the terminal.

You pulled out your phone and texted Noah to tell him that you were at the airport. Luckily, your mom gave you Noah's number the day before you left. You were expecting to see him waiting nearby, but so far, there was no sign of him.

You checked behind yourself to see two porters already unloading your luggage onto a trolly with the help of Lucy and Riley. You turned back around and entered the terminal, in hopes of spotting Noah.

You had made your way to the plaza and were now surrounded by multiple shops and various places to eat lunch or get a coffee. You looked around as you sat down on one of the free benches while many people passed by.

You pulled out your phone to see that Noah still hadn't text you back. You were starting to get pissed off at this point and just went to the phone app and called him.

The phone rang for a minute, but you were immediately were sent to voicemail.

"Hey, it's Noah. Call back later or leave a message...or don't."

You sighed as you ended the call. You had been in Oregon for less than fifteen minutes, and you were already feeling the urge to get back on that plane and go straight home.

You looked around the area to spot a nearby Starbooks. You got up and decided to get something to drink to pass the time.

You went inside and bought a Frappuccino and sat down at one of the tables. You pulled out your phone as you sipped your drink. You decided to play some addictive game apps to pass the time while you mindlessly waited for your very late cousin to show up.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You had been sitting in Starbooks for roughly 10 minutes when you received a phone call. You quickly looked at the caller ID and saw 'Noah' across the screen. You immediately put the phone to your ear.

"Hi."

"Hey, it's Noah. I'm running a bit late."

"You don't say."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Fine, but hurry up. I'm in Starbooks in the plaza."

"Star—what?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard of—ugh, never mind. Call me when you're here, I'll come outside and find you."

"Fine."

And with that, the conversation was over. From what you could tell already, Noah had barely changed. He still seemed to own the award for the world's worst conversation holder.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"I'm here."

"Okay, you outside?"

"Yeah, I'm outside the main terminal doors."

"Okay, be there in a minute."

"By the way, you may want to grab some food. We've got a long drive ahead of us, and I want to get home as fast as possible, so I'm not going to make any pit stops unless it's a dire emergency."

"Okay," you replied before ending the call.

Well, he was still as blunt as you remembered him to be.

You quickly got up and went over to WcDonald's to quickly grab something to eat. You couldn't remember the last time you had eaten at a fast food restaurant so eating WcDonald's now felt a little alien to you since both your mom and your dad hated any place that sold cheap burgers or fried chicken.

After a few minutes, you grabbed the paper bag and rushed to the terminal exit, eager to leave the airport. You made it to the doors and walked out to immediately see a red truck with a scruffy young guy in the driver's seat. The guy was staring right at you while you just stood there and stared at the vehicle with a look of repugnance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! Here's Chapter 1! More chapters have been written and posted elsewhere, but I've just joined Archive of Our Own, so I'm just taking a while to post each chapter since I'm preoccupied with writing Chapter 7 and Sixth Form homework (ugh, no escape...)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! More are going to be posted just give me time to upload them. Feel free to subscribe to this story so you won't miss when they're published!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	4. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 2: Welcome to Gravity Falls! ▲

**   
**

**Arrival Arc: Welcome to Gravity Falls! **

* * *

Noah just waved at you while he gave you an irritated look. You quickly shifted your gaze away from the truck and slowly made your way to the vehicle.

You noticed that the two porters with your luggage were already running past you to the back of the truck, already loading your luggage into the open compartment. You opened the door to the passenger seat and observed your cousin after seven years of no visual contact.

His messy brunette hair had a few tangles, and he had developed a slight five o'clock shadow. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he carried a slightly depressing aura. You then looked down to see him wearing a navy blue flannel shirt with some baggy jeans and a pair of slightly worn sneakers.

"You gonna' get in or what?" he asked as he folded his arms. You gave him a mild glare as you reluctantly hopped inside. "I'm assuming we can go as soon as your two slaves over there finish loading your bags?"

"Yeah..." you replied as you folded your arms, unconsciously mirroring his actions. He sighed and leaned back in the seat. A minute later, you saw the two porters leave with the trolly.

"Thank God, thought we'd be stuck here all afternoon," he grumbled.

"Nice to know you're still the same ray of sunshine that I remember."

He hummed as he raised an eyebrow and started the engine. You looked around the truck and glanced through the window behind you to view the bags in the back of the vehicle.

"Are you sure my bags won't fall out?"

Noah looked behind and sighed.

"Those two idiots didn't even clip them in. One second..." He said as he quickly exited the truck and pulled the elastic buckles across the bags and secured them. He then came back in and began to drive away.

You looked down at the WcDonald's bag on your lap and dug your hand in and nibbled on a chip. You then fully observed the interior of the truck with a look of distaste.

"Stop looking at my truck like that. Not everyone owns a 120-inch limo."

"You're the nephew of a millionaire, why in the world are you going about your life in one of these?" You said as you checked the seat for any notable signs of dirt, luckily you hadn't spotted any.

"Because I don't flaunt my family's wealth that's why. Besides, you don't need a 20-meter outdoor pool and a solid gold watch to be happy."

You huffed and turned away to look out the right window.

"How long is the drive?"

"Three to four hours."

You turned to him with shock.

"What!"

"This is what you get for landing in Portland. If you landed in Redmond, we would have been there within an hour or so."

"Where the plane landed wasn't up to me!" you restored. Noah just rolled his eyes and entered the main road.

"Whatever. Nonetheless, you coming here has been such a hassle."

"Wasn't my decision."

"Wasn't mine either."

You just growled and began to nibble on your chips.

"Where even is Gravity Falls? I looked it up, but Goodle Maps didn't come up with any results."

"It's in the middle of Oregon. You won't find it on any maps, and it's not the type of place you usually find by accident so Goodle wouldn't know anything about it," he replied as he kept his eyes on the road. You took a sip of your drink.

"Okay fair enough. But if it's not on any maps, then how did you find it?"

"A friend recommended it to Amelia and me."

"I see."

For the next few minutes, you silently ate your food. You glanced out of the window to see Noah enter the freeway. You stuffed all of the empty boxes inside the bag and continued to just finish your drink. You brought the straw back to your lips as you stared out of the window.

"So...uh...how have you been?" you looked back at Noah with surprise. You never thought the day would come, Noah Damien (Surname) was attempting to start a conversation.

"...I've been good."

"I heard your mom is in bad condition, she okay?" he asked, taking a quick glance at you.

"She's been on meds, and she's been losing sleep. All in all, she hasn't been doing that good."

"I'm assuming the cause is your dad?"

"Yeah, it got worse when she discovered that dad got himself a mistress."

"He's a bastard, tell her to find someone else."

"Well she's screwing her therapist right now, so I think she's got that in the bag. But if we're talking about finding someone else for a new relationship, I don't think she has found anyone yet," Noah just hummed and carried on driving. "I'm sorry to hear about Amelia by the way," you spoke quietly, feeling uncertain as to whether he was sensitive about the topic or not. Noah just hummed again, but you could sense that he didn't want the subject of his ex to progress after you brought her up.

You decided to stop talking after the mood became awkward. You weren't sure what happened between Noah and Amelia, but you were under the impression that their breakup was quite rocky. You went to your Spootify app and turned on your music, drowning out the sound of the truck's engine and the whizzing sound of other cars passing by.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Hours passed, and you were getting very tired of the long drive. You were already sick of seeing cars and roads, and you didn't wish to see another freeway for the rest of the summer.

You sighed as the music playing through your earphones switched to another song. You looked out of the window in front of you and saw a large sign on the side of the road.

You raised an eyebrow at the sentence at the bottom. Was that a joke? Or was it the town's crappy attempt to get people interested in the area only for the visitors to get royally screwed over once they spent a couple of days there?

 _'I already want to go home...'_ you thought as the car passed the sign.

"In case you didn't see the sign, we're here."

_'Like I wouldn't see the sign, it's fucking massive...'_

"Yeah I saw it, where's your house?" you asked as you looked at the trees that surrounded the small forest road.

"It's in the forest, but we have to go through town to get there so if I were you I would try to observe your surroundings. The first thing you need to know about this place is that it's really easy to get lost so try to take note of certain landmarks, such as the water tower with the giant muffin on the back. If you still have that photographic memory of yours, you'll probably be okay."

"I see...anything else you need to mention while we're on the topic?" you asked with a raised eyebrow. Noah had a tendency to leave out extra information until the last minute. More often than not that information was important.

"This place is weird, so don't apply logic to your day when staying here. You'll just end up confused."

"What kind of advice is _that_?" you asked with an odd look.

"You'll figure it out. As for everything else, I'll fill you in later once I have more time to jog my memory."

"Fine," you sighed as you turned your head back to the window.

The forest seemed to get deeper and darker as the truck sped along the road. The sun was already making its way westwards as it would eventually begin to disappear behind the trees. You checked the time on your phone to see that it read '3:56.'

Eventually, the trees began to become more sparse as buildings eventually came into view. The trees finally cleared as the truck started to make its way through the town.

"This is the town."

_'Well, no shit.'_

Well, you had learned one other thing about Noah. He had picked up the skill to state the obvious. Though, you couldn't stay mad at him since he was obviously trying to make an effort. However, only people who knew him really well would be able to tell.

"I gathered..." you sighed.

"The townspeople are nice so don't be afraid to talk to them, though you may find them to be a bit weird," he informed you as he stopped to let an old woman pass in front of the vehicle.

"Well, if it's coming from you then they must be nice," Noah ignored your comment and continued.

"The town has various places such as The Museum, The Mall, Greasy's Diner, The Arcade, Big Guns Laser Tag, Cinema—you get the idea."

"Lazer tag and an arcade...yeah you do realize that I'm not going to fit in here, right?" you replied with a bored expression as you half-heartedly watched two cops exit an ice-cream parlor, laughing and grinning as if they were on a date.

"Tell me something I don't know," he groaned as he ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, and you won't find any of your well-known brands here," he added.

You turned to him with shock, "What!"

"So unless you're planning to starve for the rest of the summer, you'd better suck it up."

"I only eat well-known brands for a reason! That way, I know exactly what I'm putting in my mouth with very little chance of there being something shady put inside! Last time I ate an off-brand I nearly passed out from food poisoning! What am I going to—"

"Get over it, that's what you're gonna' do. And the food here isn't off-brand, you're just not familiar with the food products around here."

You growled as you angrily crossed your arms.

_'I've been here for five minutes, and I already can't wait to go home...'_

The rest of the car journey was short, but you were able to spot specific landmarks. You noticed the water tower that Noah previously mentioned but couldn't locate any giant muffin. Instead, the tower just had 'GRAVITY FALLS' across the front as if you didn't already know where you were.

After the truck made its way through the forest again, you eventually arrived at your cousin's very isolated log cabin. The house had two floors, and the building was made out of—you guessed it—logs. The porch that led up to the front door and the dark wooden exterior made the house look very cozy.

In all honesty, you weren't sure what type of house you imagined Noah to have. The last you heard from him was that he left Chicago to go live in Oregon with Amelia. Your parents kept in touch with him, but you eventually stopped attempting to communicate with him whenever he was on the phone with your mom.

Despite being on your father's side, Noah had always been much closer to your mother. Whenever he used to come to visit with your aunt and uncle, he would always greet her first and then give your father a half-hearted 'hello.' You didn't use to understand, but now you were older, you found the whole thing funny. After that, your parents divorced, and later on, Noah got into a massive argument with his parents, which caused him to move in with his girlfriend—or ex-girlfriend now—and completely cut contact with everyone except your mom. Then Noah and Amelia broke up which now leads to the current moment.

You were curious to as how this summer would play out. As much as you didn't want to be there, you were wondering if you could possibly rekindle your relationship with your cousin. The both of you had never been that friendly with each other, and you were both polar opposites. Even back when you were little, you and Noah never really hit it off; so you wondered if a friendship was even possible.

"Okay, now before you run off inside, I need you to help me bring your bags inside."

"Oh, I can't carry bags," you informed him as you crossed your arms. The brunette turned to you with a questioning glance as he slowly opened his mouth to begin speaking.

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

"Well, over here in Gravity Falls no one is going to carry your bags for you. You'll just have to suck it up," he replied as he unclipped his seatbelt.

"But I can't carry them," you informed him again.

"What the issue? Do you have noodle arms or have you just been conditioned to having people at your every back and call?" he asked as he too, folded his arms.

"I just can't carry them," you repeated as you gave him a side glance.

"Suck it up princess," he said as he got out of the truck. You rolled your eyes and unclipped your seatbelt and exited the vehicle to see Noah opening the back of the truck. You wandered over to him to see him pick up one of your bags.

"Now be careful, my laptop is in there," Noah rolled his eyes.

"I don't have any plug sockets, y'know?" you stopped and stared at him. He suddenly broke out into a chuckle.

"Stupid. There's about five in the house."

"Just five?" you gasped as you stood there dumbstruck.

"Don't tell me you plan to spend the whole summer on your laptop..."

"You sound like my mom," you sighed. Noah picked up another one of your bags and carried it over his shoulder.

"Though to be honest it's not the plug sockets that you should be worried about..."

You ignored him and began to walk inside the house, but a cough that came from behind and stopped you. You looked behind yourself to see Noah somehow managing to carry three bags at once.

"You're not entering the house without carrying at least two bags."

"Two? Ugh, I just told you, I can't carry bags!"

"Did you stop going to the gym?"

"No," you folded your arms again and stared at him.

"Then I'm sure you'll be fine."

You huffed and stomped over to the truck and grasped the smallest bag. As your hand made contact with the bag, you got an idea.

"Ugh!" you exclaimed as you pretended to struggle with the bag. Noah stood and watched you 'struggle' to move the bag. "Gah!" you grunted as the bag dropped onto the floor. You heard Noah click his tongue as you heard footsteps approach you.

"Don't tell me your _that_ pathetic," he sighed as he grabbed your bag, now carrying four bags.

"I can't carry bags." you folded your arms as you made your way to the front door. Noah just grumbled and began to carry your bags inside.

"Well if you're not going to carry anything, at least open the door," Noah huffed as he tossed you his keys. You caught them and unlocked the door and entered the building.

You gazed around the main hallway with interest. The corridor had a wide staircase that led up upstairs and three doors; one on the left and three on the right. You looked inside the first room to your right and saw the kitchen. It wasn't anything special, just had a long bench that ran across the perimeter of the wall opposite to you and the wall to your right. The bench had a stove and a sink attached along with many cupboards under and above it. To the left of the room was a fridge, a trash can and a wooden door that led into the next room.

You took a peek inside the fridge to your left and saw roughly five items: half a carton of milk, some raw meat, some orange juice, some butter and a plate of leftovers. You cringed and shut the door and turned to Noah as he hauled some of your bags in.

"Do you just live off leftovers and milk? There's nothing in the fridge."

"I didn't have time to go grocery shopping today since I gave up eight hours of my day just collecting you. You're also the reason why I couldn't go to work today."

"Oh boo-hoo," you spoke with sarcasm, "I think you're the only person in the world who would get upset over something like that."

Noah just raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. Before going back outside, he said, "Well I plan to go grocery shopping in half an hour. You can come with me, and I can show you a bit of the town and the route from here to there."

He left before you could reply. You went through the door to your left and came across the dining room. Just like the kitchen, it wasn't anything special. The room only contained a plain wooden table with various chairs gathered around it and a large cabinet with glass windows that showed the contents; the contents mainly being tableware and glasses of different shapes and sizes.

You glanced at the paintings on the walls, recognizing some from your childhood when visiting your aunt and uncle's place. Noah enjoyed painting and often painted pictures of landscapes and people. You looked at the painting nearest you. The image was of a robin perched on a twig. You remembered that this particular painting was hung in the bathroom of your aunt and uncle's apartment back in Chicago.

You looked to your left to see a door and in front of you was a large arch that led into a conservatory that eventually led outside. You made a mental note to check the garden later as you went through the door to your left.

You quickly found yourself back in the corridor, exiting out of the second door on the right side. You checked the room next to the dining room to see that it just led into a cupboard with cleaning supplies. You briefly looked around closed the door with disinterest. You then cut across the hallway to enter the double doors on the left while Noah set down more of your bags before quickly returning to his truck.

The door on the left led into Noah's living room. Again, nothing too special, but you did like how large and spacious the room was. The living room was bigger than the cupboard, kitchen and dining room combined.

The walls were made out of wood, and it made the room look very cozy. Diagonally opposite the door was a sofa and a coffee table and opposite that was a large stone fireplace that reached the ceiling.

You wandered inside and observed the bookcase next to the door. The cabinet was lined with various books from old to modern, to fiction to non-fiction. The walls were dotted with more of Noah's paintings. You noticed that the biggest painting above the fireplace was a painting of Amelia. You thought that the idea of still having a portrait your Ex was a little strange, but you assumed that it must have been there for a while.

The dark chestnut eyes of Noah's Ex peered down at you while you gazed back up at her from below. You wanted to glare at the painting as if Amelia was really there staring down at you.

The painting was a portrait of Amelia with the picture in a wooden frame. Despite your dislike for her, Amelia was gorgeous. From her honey-colored hair to her hourglass figure and skinny waist. The problem was, Amelia's appearance was ruined by her arrogant and snobby personality. When you were first introduced to her, she looked down at you with a look of disdain as if you were a dirty sewer rat.

You turned away from the painting to gaze at the others dotted around the room. Most were just landscapes, some of which you recognized from your childhood; but others appeared to have been painted in during the time you and Noah had stopped seeing each other.

You sighed as soon as you saw the TV. It was stood on top of a small wooden table that was near the fireplace and across from the sofa. The TV looked like it had come straight from the 1950s and was now slowly collecting dust in Noah's living room. You noticed that it had two boxes below it. One of them looked to be a DVD player while the other seemed to be a video cassette player. You then shifted your gaze to the mini cabinet next to the TV. It held various DVDs and VHS tapes. You recognized most of the DVDs, but there were a few VHS tapes that you knew as well such as 'Alien' and 'Ghostbusters' and 'Grease.'

As soon as you felt that you had thoroughly explored the living room, you headed upstairs. By this point, Noah had carried in all of your bags and was now hauling them up the stairs. You followed behind him and watched him enter one of the bedrooms with your bags.

"You'll be staying in Amelia's old room, so some of her stuff is still in here so try not to move anything," he said as he put your bags down inside the room. You entered the room after him to see a small room with a single bed in the corner. Next to it was a bedside table with a blue lamp on top and in the middle of the room was a triangular shaped window with a pair of white curtains. The room was also equipped with a vanity, a large wooden wardrobe and a small cabinet full of different books and old magazines.

You looked at the hideous floral vintage style wallpaper with a look of aversion. The weird red wallpaper with the pink roses looked horrible, especially with the awful matching red and pink rose bedsheets that looked like they had been bought a lifetime ago. The dark brown wood also didn't help the atrocious interior design.

"Don't look at the room like that; I wasn't the one who designed it."

"Who the fuck did? This room is ghastly! I feel like I've just been warped back to the 80s!"

"The previous owners left them, and Amelia was willing to use them so..."

"Tell me, was Amelia mentally insane?"

"Oh, just shut up and stop making such a fuss..." Noah replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I have every right to make a fuss! This room is an abomination! It's so ugly it should be a crime!"

Noah just groaned and turned away as he exited the room.

"Don't walk away from me! Come back here and refurbish the room!" you shut up after you realized that he had retreated downstairs.

You scanned the room once more. You were already feeling a bit claustrophobic. The room was cramped, there was barely any room to stand, the cabinet was messy and not only did the bed have horrible bedsheets, but it was also tiny.

_'That single size bed is so small. The one I have back home is King size, so this one is definitely going to have to take some getting used to.'_

A few minutes later you had briefly explored the other four rooms upstairs. You were annoyed that Noah had a bigger bedroom than you with a double bed and an en-suite bathroom. The other two rooms led to a bathroom—that you assumed was yours—and small a closet that held bedsheets and towels along with the boiler.

You sat down on your bed with a sigh as Noah came in with the rest of your bags. You rushed over to them and opened some of them up to begin unpacking.

"Okay, so that should be the last of your bags. But why the hell did you bring so many?"

"There are certain things that I can't travel without," you said stubbornly as you dug around in your first suitcase.

"Jesus Christ, you did not need to bring fake eyelashes and stilettos!" he said as he viewed the contents of the suitcase you opened. "Okay, why the hell did you bring a cactus?" he asked as he picked it up out of your suitcase and held it up to view it.

"Colin and I have a deep relationship that is far beyond your limited and basic understanding. Where I go, he goes," you informed him as your grabbed the cactus off him and placed it on the windowsill. "And he needs watering..."

"He's a cactus, I doubt he needs to be watered often," Noah sighed.

"There is a difference between 'survive' and 'thrive,' and a cactus actually thrives when watered periodically like any other plant. I mean, if you could survive for as long as him, wouldn't you still wish to be fed regularly than once every one or two weeks?"

Noah just rolled his eyes and you until you remembered the two large bags that you got from your dad. You turned to him and said, "Oh, by the way, my dad got you some stuff. He asked me to make sure you got it."

Noah gave you a questionable glance as you pointed toward the large bag to his left. He crouched down and opened it before digging around some of the bags inside. He then closed the bag again with a grunt as he stood up.

"Tell him I don't want his charity."

You were expecting this. Noah hated receiving pity and wasn't too keen on presents. You never fully understand it, but the same could be said for Noah's whole personality.

"He told me to give it to you. Complain to him, not me."

Noah sighed and changed the topic.

"Anyway, I plan to head out to the grocery store since I'm out of food as you oh-so-kindly pointed out. I think it would be best if you come with me to get to know the route from here to the town and walk around the area a bit. It's too late to let you explore on your own, so I'll let you do that tomorrow; but for now, I want you to have some grasp on where to go."

"Wouldn't it be better if you show me around than just letting me wander around on my own?"

"I have to go to work tomorrow so I won't have time to show you around. That's the other thing that I meant to tell you later. I work weekdays from seven to five, so don't expect to see me around much."

"Don't you get a holiday?"

"Yes, I booked three weeks of the summer off, but besides that, I'll be working each day except for weekends. So, in other words, you'll have to amuse yourself for the majority of your stay here."

"Great," you groaned.

"You can unpack later. I need you to come, so you don't get too lost on your first day here."

"Fine."

▲ △ ▼ ▽

The pedestrian route to town was quiet and isolating.

The woodpeckers knocked their beaks against the trees as various woodland animals scampered about and timidly hid from you and your cousin as you both made your way through the woods.

The quickest way to town on foot was to cut straight through the forest that surrounded your cousin's house. The scenery was beautiful, but the atmosphere of the forest was undefinably strange and mildly harrowing. You felt watched, and the sensation was more than just a little unsettling. You couldn't stop yourself from viewing the area around you from left to right, and you would occasionally check behind you out of paranoia. Luckily, Noah was with you, and you weren't as uncomfortable as you would be if you were on your own.

"How far is the town?"

"Not too far now, the walk from my house to town is roughly fifteen minutes."

"I see."

Within five more minutes, you and Noah had both arrived in town. The place was just as lively as it was when you and Noah both passed through it in his truck.

You and the brunette both walked onto the sidewalk after passing the water tower. Noah pointed it out and made sure you remembered the landmark as an indication of the way you had to go to get back to Noah's house. It was at that point you noticed the giant red muffin spray painted on the back.

Noah and you both walked through the town with Noah occasionally pointing out various landmarks such as The Arcade, the Library, Greasy's Diner and the Mall. You only really took a slight interest in places such as the Mall.

Eventually, you both made it to the local corner store. Noah did his shopping as you gazed at the various products. You recognized none of them.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing," you responded.

"Pick some stuff; you can't starve."

"I don't eat products that I'm not familiar with," you said as you folded your arms.

"Pick some stuff," he glared. You returned it with one of your own as you turned away to grab some random things to eat. "Try and find something that you would like to eat for dinner along with some other snacks, so you aren't going hungry when home alone."

You didn't respond as you walked along to the next aisle and observed the drinks lined up on the shelves. You scanned some of the drinks before eventually grabbing a pack of 'Pitt Cola' and walking to the next aisle.

You and Noah spent about twenty minutes shopping before you both began to walk home again. There was a long period of silence until you both reached the woods. He then started to make small talk.

"Are you okay with pasta for dinner?"

"Yeah."

In truth, you weren't sure if you were okay with it. You rarely ate homecooked food that wasn't prepared by your chef at home or Ava. You had no idea whether Noah was a good cook or not since it had been years since you had eaten his cooking. But if even if he was the world's most excellent cook, the type of food products mattered as well.

"When we get in I'll show you where things live so you can take care of yourself when I'm gone. I'll also fill you in on house rules and key information about Gravity Falls, so you'll know what to do and what not to do when in and out of the house."

"Okay."

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You and Noah both got into the house, and as soon as the door was shut, Noah rushed into the kitchen with the shopping to put everything away and begin dinner. You saw no reason to stick around, so you headed upstairs to find something to do so you could pass the time.

You got upstairs and picked up your phone to text your mom to tell her that you had arrived at Noah's and that he was now making dinner. You ignored the new messages from Louie and texted your dad to tell him that you had given Noah the presents but that he hadn't officially accepted them yet. You then switched off your phone and looked towards your suitcases with a sigh.

For the next half hour, you spent the time unpacking most of your stuff. There weren't enough draws in the room for all of your stuff, so you put the remaining items into one suitcase before placing the rest of them in a corner, so they were out of the way.

"(Name)! Dinner's ready!" Noah yelled from the kitchen. You yelled back to him saying that you would be there in a second as you got out your phone charger and put your phone on charge. You then made your way downstairs and immediately smelt cooked pasta.

You entered the dining room to see two places set up. You sat in one of the chairs as Noah came into the room with two bowls of pasta. He placed one of the dishes in front of you before sitting down with his own bowl.

The pasta looked and smelt alright enough, so far so good. You reluctantly picked up the fork and twirled the long strands around your fork.

"So what is this important stuff that I need to know?" you asked as you took a small nibble at your food, expecting it to be bland.

"It's not too important, just information that would benefit from knowing."

"Okay, shoot," you replied, wishing to get it over with.

"Okay, first off, no messes. I don't want to spend my evenings picking up after you. Eat whatever you want and wherever, but if you make a mess, you're cleaning it up."

You just rolled your eyes. You were expecting this, so it came to no surprise that Noah was telling you this straight off the bat.

"The cleaning equipment is in the small cupboard in the corridor. The cleaning liquids are on the shelf above the mop and the vacuum, use them as much as you need to, just remember to put them back. The tableware and food are in the cupboards above the bench. In one of the lower cupboards are kitchen cleaning chemicals such as bleach. You know what they say, don't drink the bottles under the sink, so that's sorted. Chilled food is in the fridge, and frozen foods are in the freezer which is the bottom compartment of the fridge. More food is in those other lower cupboards, so you'll find what you're looking for eventually. Try not to stuff yourself with trash; I don't want you going back home looking like a tub of lard."

You glared at him and folded your arms.

"Anything else?"

"In case of an emergency, there is a credit card in a metal sewing box. The box is at the back of my closet so if something happens, use it to get yourself out of a sticky situation. There's also a handgun and a satellite phone in there."

"Uh...okay?"

"I think that's about it for house rules and where stuff is—oh wait, one other thing. If I'm walking around, just ignore it; I often work during the night. Oh, and don't go rummaging through my room like some little snoop, there is private stuff in there."

"What is it, pictures of you posing in your underwear?" you joked as Noah glared at you.

"No."

"Anyway, in all seriousness I honestly don't care what you're hiding. You're the most boring person I know so I doubt whatever you're hiding would be that interesting. Last time I went snooping through your stuff, all I found was your diary. At first, I thought I hit the jackpot, but all that was in there was you whining about how you a B- on your Economics exam and how you found your calling after reading nature magazines. It was more than just a little uninteresting," you explained before continuing, "in fact, the only thing interesting about the whole experience was observing how strange you are."

Noah just rolled his eyes and shoved some of his pasta into his mouth while you mustered up the courage to actually put the whole fork in your mouth. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't up to your usual standards. It was average, but you didn't do average and weren't used to mediocre dishes, so you decided to dislike it.

"Anyway, moving on. I need to tell you about the area. First off, there are doors with the number thirteen on it, don't go near them. No idea why so don't ask but according to the locals it's generally just a bad idea so stay away from them and definitely don't go through them. Apparently, there's one on Main Street so keep an eye out for it."

You were silent. You had no idea how to react to that. You would think he was joking, but Noah wasn't funny in the slightest and stopped making jokes after people (like your dad) offered to pay him to shut up. So...did he hit his head?

"Okay..."

"Secondly, the forest. It's super creepy even in the day and even creepier at night. You may hear some of the locals, uh, talking, but it seldom means anything. It's just a bunch of rumors and speculation...or crazy talk for some people—anyway, it's nothing you should be paying attention to. Trust me, I work in the forest every day and I no nothing of...ah, what do they call them? Uh, leprechauns, gnomes, fairies—y'know what I mean. All that stuff..." Noah trailed off as he scratched the back of his neck. "I think Gravity Falls is known for its folklore. I think it's the large forest that caused it..."

_'Wow, do some people here actually believe in them? Or is it just people trying to entertain other people with old local legends?'_

"Anything else?" you asked.

"Yes. Now following on from that, don't let your guard down around here. When I say that you shouldn't worry, I don't mean that you shouldn't look after yourself. There are still people that could potentially harm you or worse. So this place may not be big on the supernatural, there are still people like kidnappers, gangs, murderers, rapists, muggers—"

You cut your cousin off and said with a sigh, "Noah, this isn't New York City, I'm not going to get attacked."

"It's less likely, yes. But as I mentioned before, Gravity Falls is weird, in more ways than one. Everyone here either has some really strange personality traits or has a dark, mysterious backstory or side to them that no one knows about."

"Well, you fit right in with the former, so I'd say mission accomplished."

"(Name), I need you to be serious about this. This place is bizarre, so I need you to take some care about your wellbeing when here. I'm not saying the place is bad, but these types of things you need to be aware of."

"Yeah, yeah," you rolled your eyes as you said that and chewed on the pasta. It was plain, but you would live with it for now.

Noah sighed as he ate his pasta. Silence fell over the both of you. After that, you couldn't think of anything to talk about, but luckily Noah thought of something.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'm going to work at seven tomorrow so you'll likely be asleep when I leave. There is bread around, and I trust that you can use a toaster so you can make yourself some toast. If you don't want that, there are also cereal boxes and stuff. I'll be back around five so go look around. If you need me for something important—and I mean, actually important—then call me or come find me."

"Well, where do you work? In fact, what even is your job?"

"I work for the Corduroys. And I'm a lumberjack."

You burst out laughing. Noah glared at you with an offended look.

"What?"

"Sorry, it's just funny! It's so...you," you chuckled.

"I don't get what's so funny," he remarked as he folded his arms.

"It's just...lumberjack," you began to giggle again. Noah just rolled his eyes.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes, yes. I'm done," you stopped giggling, but your smirk still remained.

"Anyway, I work for this guy called Dan, and I help him chop wood and sell it to people so I'll be moving around a lot. Their cabin is in the woods and isn't too far from here so if you keep walking left from the house you're bound to come across it. If on the off chance I'm not there and I'm out selling wood or something, just wait by the cabin and Wendy or one of Dan's sons will help you out and keep you company."

"Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own," you replied as you waved him off.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged as he finished the rest of his pasta before picking up the plate. "You finished with yours?" he asked as he motioned to your bowl. You looked down at the now cold pasta and nodded. He picked up the plate and went back into the kitchen.

You sat there for a minute just going over what he said to make sure that you wouldn't forget. Noah returned a minute later with two of the 'Pitt Cola' cans that you grabbed from the shop earlier. He tossed one to you as he sat down in the space he was previously sitting at. You looked down at the can observing it properly before turning back to Noah.

"What even is this?"

"Pitt Cola, it's quite popular here."

"It looks like a peach Koca-Cola rip off."

"Tastes nothing like it. It's a soft drink, and the liquid is pink."

You just rolled your eyes and decided to try it. You wanted to just throw it away, but you were parched, and there was no way on earth that you would drink water from the tap. Tap water was where you draw the line.

You cracked open the can and took a sip. Noah was right; it tasted nothing like the peach flavored Koca-Cola. In fact, you couldn't even link the taste to any other type of drink. You had tried a ripoff drink before when you were eleven, and it was cheap coke. It tasted like liquid cardboard, and you vowed never to drink it again. But this drink was its own species...

"How is it?" Noah asked as he sipped his own.

"Needs improvement," you remarked with a shrug as you got up to go to your room with the can still in hand.

"I'm assuming you're going to go to bed then?"

"No, I'm going to check the internet, have a shower and then go to bed."

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention, curfew is eight."

"I'm not six-years-old! No person my age goes to bed at eight!"

"Nine then."

"I go to bed at ten at home, and if I want to, I can to stay up all night when it's the weekend or holidays."

"Half nine and that's my final offer."

"Fine," you grumbled as you climbed the stairs up to your room.

Once you got to your room and shut the door, you began to quickly chug down the Pitt Cola like your life depended on it. The flavor was terrific now that you were taking bigger gulps and you couldn't get the drink down your neck fast enough. Within a few seconds, you had finished the can as a small object fell onto your tongue. You pulled it out to see a peach pit, and you looked at the can in question.

 _'Why would they put a peach pit in a can? That's one, a choking hazard and two, peach pits contain cyanide so if enough of these are swallowed...'_ you then stopped, _'Christ, what's happening to me I sound like someone from the NIH.'_

You tossed the can and the pit into the bin and smiled and the lingering taste. You made a mental note to stockpile some of those before you go back to Florida. Though, you just didn't want to give Noah the satisfaction of seeing you enjoy something new.

You flopped down on your bed to picked up your phone. You noticed that both your mom and dad had replied to you along with a few more texts from Louie asking why you weren't answering him. You rolled your eyes and sent him a terse and very blunt reply before reading the message from your mom. She asked you how your day went and you replied with a mini-essay describing what happened before asking her how she was doing. Then quickly switched to the conversation with your dad and informed him about your trip so far.

You spent the next few minutes texting them and ignoring Louie before turning your phone on silent and clicking on Zoo. You then rolled your eyes after realizing you hadn't asked Noah for the wifi password yet.

"Hey, Noah! What's the wifi password!" you yelled.

"The what?"

"The wifi password!" you yelled louder.

"Don't have wifi!"

You stopped and froze in your spot.

No wifi for eleven weeks with dodgy service that kept fluctuating between one bar and no service at all.

"Told you bringing your laptop was a bad idea!" Noah called from the bottom of the stairs before a few amused chuckles followed that statement.

You remained silent as you felt your entire world come crashing down on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Chapter 2! More chapters are to be uploaded from Wattpad! I will post the rest of them as quickly as possible so this can be up-to-date just like Wattpad, DeviantART and Quotev. For the people who are impatient, go visit my profile on one of those three websites, I go by the same name on all three!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	5. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 3: The First Day ▲

** **

**Arrival Arc: The First Day **

* * *

You stared at your reflection in the mirror with a blasé expression. Your arm moved the toothbrush around your mouth as a white foam built up inside your maw and began to overflow onto your lips. You stopped and spat into the sink before shoving the brush back inside your mouth and continuing.

The door opened, and your cousin entered the room. You looked at him through the mirror and waited for him to speak.

"You're _still_ getting ready for bed?"

"I'm almost done."

"It's nine forty-five, you were supposed to be asleep fifteen minutes ago," Noah folded his arms as he narrowed his eyes. You spat out the remaining toothpaste and filled a cup with water.

"When someone says curfew is half past nine, they usually mean that one should be getting ready for bed at that time. Not that one should be asleep for then," you replied before washing out your mouth with water.

"Fine. Then, in that case, bedtime is half eight. That way you have an hour to do the longest nightly ritual I have ever seen anyone do."

You glared sharply through the mirror before quickly spitting out the toothpaste water into the sink. You put the cup back in its holder as you turned around to face your cousin.

"Hey! You said half nine, don't you dare back on it."

"Can and will."

"Ugh! I'm seventeen years old! I'm perfectly capable of managing my own sleeping schedule," you glared as you turned back around and picked up your moisturizer.

"Just not anything else."

"Excuse you!"

"God, how many liquids are you putting on your face?" he asked with disgust as you applied the moisturizer.

"I'm moisturizing to prevent my skin from going dry now that I'm out of the shower."

"Never in my life has my skin gone dry when I got out of the shower. More often than not it's _wet_."

"Everyone's skin is different! And mine goes dry in areas after it's been under the hot water."

"Then don't have hot showers," Noah spoke like it was obvious, but you only sighed at his incompetence.

"You may love living in the stone-age, but the rest of the planet and I don't and enjoy the hot water."

Noah sighed, knowing full well that he couldn't win. He knew that you must have the last word no matter what the topic was. So alas, he decided that you weren't worth the bother.

"Well, go to bed as soon as you're done _moisturizing_. Dealing with a princess is hard enough, dealing with a grumpy sleep deprived princess is something that I'm not willing to put myself through; so be in bed for ten."

"I don't see what you're fussing about. You're going to be going to work, and there's no way I'm getting up at six."

"You will, or you'll miss breakfast."

"I thought you told me that I should make it myself?"

"I'll make it for you tomorrow. And I need you up at six for that."

"Ava gets me up at nine on holidays and weekends."

"Don't care. You have a big day tomorrow, and I don't want you sleeping in for the whole of this holiday; so I'll be getting you up around the same I get up for work."

You wanted to hit him. There was no way on earth that you would be waking up at six o'clock every morning for the whole of the summer. And you didn't consider the following day to be that 'big.' You would just look around the area, return to Noah's house and then spend the rest of the day reading, trying to get service and possibly watching some of the DVDs in Noah's living room.

"Don't you dare get me up at—ugh!" you cut yourself off after you watched Noah quickly leave the room and enter his bedroom. You closed the lid on your moisturizer and carried it with you into your room.

You inwardly cringed at the sight of the bed. It was almost enough to make you lose faith in everything. As you tossed the moisturizer onto your vanity, you sat on the bed and observed the slightly messy room.

Inside the cabinet was a fallen stack of old magazines. You spied some that you recognized such as Seventeen, The New Yorker, and Playgirl. You raised an eyebrow at the Playgirl magazines and then looked under your bed. You noticed that there were two dusty cardboard boxes. You pulled both of them out and observed the contents. The first one had CDs of various albums by various artists such as Guns and Roses, The Sex Pistols, My Chemical Romance and so on. You pushed the box back under and observed the second one.

Unlike the first, this box was filled with many women's porn magazines. You rolled your eyes and pushed it back under the bed. You suspected right; Amelia did have porn magazines under her bed like some horny teenage boy. Since she read Playgirl magazines, there was a high chance that she looked at inappropriate magazines too. It seemed as if Amelia was stupid enough to forget that she left them in her old room...

You didn't care how nosy you were at that moment. You had to admit; you were quite happy that Noah and her were now split up. He was blinded by his own emotions and didn't realize that she was a toxic person that would never provide him with any real happiness. The same could have been said about you and Louie, but your relationship wasn't serious and lacked any real emotion. Well, at least on your part...

You sighed and picked up your uPhone and went to your notes section. If you were going to look around the area, particularly the town, you decided that you could at least look at the landmarks that possibly interested you. You made a list of the types of places that you planned to visit or find, such as the mall and the gym.

You were about to go on to the internet, but then you remembered that there was no wifi. You then turned on your 4G to see if that worked, but it immediately went to GPRS before you lost the one bar you had and 'No Service' appeared in the left-hand corner instead.

You groaned and put your phone down. You got up to get changed into your silk pajamas before combing your slightly tangled hair. You took a small moment to admire yourself in the mirror as you smirked at your appearance. You went over to the triangular window and shut the white curtains before jumping onto the bed.

You put your phone on the bedside table face down as you put it on silent after suddenly received a late night message from Louie that you would once again ignore. You climbed under the covers as you told Collin goodnight and reached out and turned the lamp on the side of your bed off.

Soon enough the only light in the room came from the glowing red digits of your alarm clock and the golden light that escaped from under the door.

You turned over onto your side and closed your eyes. Within a quarter of an hour, you had fallen asleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You awoke to the sound of loud footsteps descending the staircase. Your eyes remained closed, but your ears could hear everything outside your door loud and clear.

You then heard the footsteps loudly walk through the downstairs corridor before you sound of glass shattering from where you assumed was the kitchen. Despite it happening downstairs, the walls in your room weren't soundproof so you could hear the noises loud and clear.

You slightly opened your eyes to see a blurred dark room. You could literally feel the rheum build up in the corners of your eyes and you reclosed your heavy eyelids that refused to remain open. You had no idea what time it was, but you predicted that it must have been around three in the morning. You were far too tired to turn over onto your side to check the time, let alone go check what was happening downstairs; so you remained in the exact position that you were already in.

When you woke up, you did get the passing thought that there was a burglary going on downstairs; but then you remembered that Noah mentioned that he usually stayed up late.

You ignored the loud footsteps that carried on walking around downstairs and fell back asleep. It didn't take long due to your extreme tiredness. Within a minute you were already asleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You were woken by the sound of loud knocking at your door. You moaned and turned over onto your side to gaze at the red digits of your alarm clock. The time read '6:34' and you mentally groaned.

The knocking continued, and you lifted the covers away from your mouth so you could speak.

"Ava it's six o'clock in the morning, and it's a Saturday! Go away!" you yelled before you then lifted the cover back up to your face as you closed your eyes again. The knocking ceased, and you happily welcomed the silence. Well, for the few seconds it lasted...

The door to your room suddenly opened as Noah stormed into your room and threw the covers off you.

You shrieked from the sudden cold air hitting your skin as you scrambled to cover yourself again. However, your attempt was futile since Noah had thrown the covers halfway across the room.

Noah stood there with his arms folded as you rubbed the rheum from your eyes and glared up at him.

"What the hell!"

"Get up, breakfast is ready," he proclaimed as he began to make his way to the door, "And by the way it's Wednesday," he added before leaving the room.

You growled, got out of bed and wrapped yourself in your (color) kimono as you stepped into your slippers. You stretched, then exited the room to go get your breakfast.

You entered the dining room to see Noah placing down a bowl. You sat down and observed your meal of granola and yogurt topped with fresh raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. You also noticed that a glass of orange juice was put out for you.

"Is this stuff fresh?" you asked as you pointed to your bowl of granola.

"No, it's two months old," Noah replied as he placed down some toast in the middle of the table.

"It's just that you shouldn't expect me to always eat stuff like this."

Noah sighed, "Well as soon as you get home you can go back to eating truffles and caviar, but you're going to have to eat _something_ while you're here."

"You're right. Maybe I should ask my dad to deliver me some quality food for me to eat when I'm here."

"If you want to be that extra then be my guest, but if that's the case then why didn't you just stay home?"

"Believe me I was going to. But yet I ended up here, and I don't think that plane has plans to arrive back in Portland anytime soon. So for better or for worse, I'm stuck here."

"Well, in that case, will you just eat your breakfast?"

You sent him a glare and silently picked your spoon and ate the granola. Again, the food was average. The fruit that you usually had was richer in texture and flavor, and the yogurt you were used to was smoother. As for the granola, it was roughly the same.

"I'll be leaving in fifteen minutes so I might as well give you this before I forget," Noah said as he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a silver key. He slid it across the table to you as you examined it with a confused expression.

"And this is...?"

"Amelia's old house key. I'm giving it to you since it's the only spare one I have and since you'll need it to get in and out of the house when I'm not here," you nodded as you took it and put it in your pocket for the time being. "Oh and be careful when you're walking around in the kitchen. I accidentally smashed some glass last night, and I managed to clean most of it up this morning, but I'm pretty sure there's still some small shards around so whatever you do don't go walking through there in bare feet."

"Fine," you replied as you reached for a slice of toast and some butter.

You rubbed your eyes from the tiredness. Maybe once Noah left you could take some time to catch up on the sleep that you lost after you got woken up.

After breakfast, Noah then got ready to head to work, but before he did, he caught you before you could head upstairs.

"Okay, so before I leave, remember to keep the door locked when you're in and also remember to lock it after you leave. Secondly, don't lose that key. I have no replacements, so once it's gone, that's that. And lastly, remember to answer the door when the mailman comes and sign for any packages that may need signing," he informed you while you nodded to show your understanding, "I think that should be about it. Remember to call me if anything happens."

And as soon as he finished talking, he grabbed his coat and left. You then made your way to your room and removed your kimono and sipped out of your slippers and flopped down on your bed. You were still tired, and you were still in your pajamas, so you wrapped yourself in the sheets and closed your eyes. Within ten minutes you were asleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You woke up and rubbed your eyes. You felt a bit better now that you had gained a few extra hours of sleep. You sat up and checked the time to see that it was half past nine.

You got up out of bed and got changed into your jeans, your Bucci sneakers, a black Zed Maker top, and gray Kalvin Groß hoodie. You then went to the bathroom to brush your teeth before you came back in to do your hair and makeup. You then grabbed your new crossbody bag and filled it with various items such as your phone, earphones and debit card before you quickly sprayed yourself with body spray and exited the room.

When you got to the front door, you pulled out your key and opened the door before locking it behind you. You decided to quickly attach it to your keychain before you began to make your way through the forest.

Once again, you got the feeling of being watched. However, the feeling and heavy atmosphere were more prominent due to you being alone this time. But you decided just to ignore it, though you did keep an eye out for anything that looked suspicious.

You carried on walking through the forest and looked up at the trees. You wrapped your arms around yourself feeling quite cold despite it nearing June. You were having a hard time dealing with the cooler temperatures of Oregon since you were used to the scorching hot temperatures of Florida. You checked around for anyone following you, but you only noticed a bird watching you. You rolled your eyes at your paranoia and carried on walking.

Within fifteen minutes you had made it to town. You gripped the strap of your bag and walked down the footpath.

You wandered through the street and observed the buildings as you kept your eyes peeled for any place of interest. Within a few minutes, you spotted the gym. You looked at the sign on the top that read 'Gravity Falls Gym.' You then looked through the window to observe the quality of the building and gym equipment. The place seemed painfully average and didn't look anywhere near as advanced as the gym you went to back in Florida. However, you knew that if you were ever going to keep your good figure, you would need to stick to your usual routine.

You sighed as you entered the gym. The young girl at the desk quietly texted away on her phone with a bored expression as the desk fan turned from left to right blowing air around the room. You walked up to the desk as the girl slowly looked up at you and sent you a mild glare.

"I'd like a membership, please," you said bluntly. The girl just raised an eyebrow and grabbed a clipboard.

"Fill in your details there. Card or cash?"

"Card," you replied as you quickly filled in your details. You were annoyed that you would have to pay for a year's membership even though you would only be in Gravity Falls for three months. However, you had enough money in your bank to buy two new houses and a Forreri, so it really didn't matter that much.

"That will be forty-five dollars," she said nonchalantly as she handed you the credit card reader. You quickly typed in your pin before handing it back. The young girl then gave you an access card along with a half-assed smile. "Have a nice day," you returned it and left the building.

You quickly attached the card to your keychain before continuing through the town. You silently viewed your surroundings and the people nearby. As you observed each person, you could immediately distinguish the locals from the tourists. The locals seemed weird, and you could quickly pick up on that from their appearances or the odd vibes they gave off.

One short man was wearing a fedora and carrying a camera. He looked like he was bullied as a kid and you betted ten dollars that he was the local nuisance. He was watching a young brunette news reporter that was making a speech in the town in front of a cameraman. He looked at her like he was in love but also like he was stalking her.

You then turned your attention to another short man with a long beard that reached the floor. He looked homeless and didn't appear to be playing with a full deck. He was laughing as he plaid the banjo in the street.

As for the tourists, they either looked utterly lost or just overly happy. More often than not the happy ones appeared to be carrying a camera and were taking photos of every last little thing around them. Why anyone chose to waste their time and money visiting Gravity Falls was beyond you. There were far more exciting places that they could have gone, for example, _Los Angeles_...

However, just by observing the locals, you realized that Noah was right. The people in the town were quite strange. Some people were so bizarre that they kind of unsettled you.

You then looked around at other various locations such as the Library and the Mall. The Library wasn't anything special but sold multiple books that you were familiar with. As for the mall, so far it was the most decent place you had been to. It didn't appear to sell much stuff you were familiar with, but you did find a store that sold electronics like DVDs and VHS tapes like the ones you saw in Noah's house. You decided to buy some old Destiny films and a few horror films along with a wifi router.

An hour had passed when you had exited the mall. You spotted a mattress shop down the street and made a mental note to come back to there so you could get rid of those God-awful sheets in your room. You carried the shopping bag of goods on your left arm as you made your way over to a nearby bench. As you sat down, you dumped the bag next to you and sighed.

You observed the area once again. There didn't appear to be anything but of the ordinary, but you considered yourself to be quite observant and believed that you had quite a strong intuition. And despite the town seeming as boring as a wet weekend in Wigan, it definitely did have something off about it.

Your eyes shifted to a short chubby twelve-year-old with massive white hair. Take him for example. His hair was strangely eye-catching, and he was chatting to a large man with tattoos and creepy white eyes. The kid also gave off a creepy vibe himself despite him doing nothing out of the ordinary. If you ever voiced your thoughts, you must have sounded overly paranoid or just insane. However, you trusted your intuition since more often than not it was correct.

You shifted your gaze away from the kid and pulled out your phone. Luckily you had better service there. You took the time to reply to your texts and update your mom on your trip and ask her how she was. You got a quick reply from her saying that she was fine and that she was glad things were going alright so far.

After you finished texting, you got up and grabbed your bag before making your way back to Noah's house. You quickly checked the time on your phone, and it read '10:58.'

You made your way through the town and into the forest. However, you soon heard voices up ahead. You heard laughing and chatter as you progressed further into the woods. Soon enough you discovered the source of the sounds.

Six teenagers were standing in front of a blue mini-van and were setting fire to an olive green shirt that presumably belonged to the chubbiest guy in the group—hence him being shirtless.

The group consisted of two girls and four guys. The group guys consisted of a black haired guy with an emo fringe in a back hoodie with a red heart on the front, the chubby brunette without a shirt, a blond guy with long hair and a brunette guy with a cap, dark skin, and tattoos. As for the two girls; one had dark skin, plum purple hair and a fuchsia highlight on the right side of her head and the other had long red hair, a green flannel shirt and a white and blue hat with a blue pine tree on the front.

The shirtless guy looked very worried that the top was being burned while the blond guy and the brunette guy laughed hysterically and kicked the shirt around like a soccer ball as the hot flames engulfed it. The other teenagers—excluding the girl with purple hair who was staring at her phone—laughed along with the other two guys while the chubby guy tried to grab the burning top that was being kicked around the forest floor.

"Stop it guys, it isn't funny!" the chubby guy whined as he chased after the top.

The girl with auburn hair was in mid-laugh as she made eye contact with you. You were watching the scene with mild interest as you casually walked past them.

As soon red-haired girl looked as if she was about to call out to you, you turned your head away not wishing to get involved. You were under the impression that they would threaten you for staring like any other group of obnoxiously hostile teenagers. Not that you cared that much; you just weren't curious to find out what would happen if you stood there like a lemon. That and you were hungry and therefore in a hurry to get back to Noah's house.

You carried on your venture back to Noah's house without being approached by anyone. Within ten more minutes, you were unlocking the door to your cousin's log cabin before dumping your bags near the entrance and heading upstairs to get changed and remove your makeup.

After you removed your makeup and got changed into a tank top and some Hike shorts, you walked into the kitchen to grab a Pitt Cola and some Cheese Boodles. But as soon as you neared the top cabinet, you felt a sudden sharp pain in your foot.

"Ah, fuck!" you yelled as you retracted your barefoot from the floor. You quickly grabbed the packet of cheese balls and hopped into the living room to observe your foot.

You sat down on the couch and tossed the food onto the sofa before observing the bottom of your foot. You noticed that there was a small puncture hole on the ball of your right foot as a river of blood ran down the heel of your foot.

You looked closely at the small puncture hole and noticed a tiny shard of glass embedded between the layers of blood covered skin.

"Son of a..." you muttered as you tried to squeeze out the glass shard. However, it only increased the pain and amount of blood that was flowing from the wound. "Fuck!" you whisper-yelled as you retracted your hand from the sudden increase in pain.

You then got up from the couch and hopped out into the hallway to get your phone out of your bag. You went to your contacts and clicked on 'Noah' and let the phone ring. You waited a few seconds before it stopped ringing and you heard a voice on the other side.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me, do you have any tweezers and a first aid kit around here?" you asked as you looked around in hopes of spotting anything of potential use.

"What happened, did you hurt yourself?" your cousin asked with a hint of concern is his tone.

"Yeah, I stepped on some glass in the kitchen."

"Ugh! I told you not to walk around in there in bare feet!"

"Sorry, I forgot," you sweat dropped as Noah sighed.

"The first aid kit is on the top shelf in the downstairs cupboard amongst all of the cleaning equipment, and there are some tweezers in the sewing box in my room."

"Okay, thanks."

"Look after yourself, bye."

"Bye."

You pressed the end call button and placed your phone on the table near the door and hopped over to the cupboard that contained all of the cleaning supplies. You looked around for a while until you noticed a white tin box with a red cross on the top. You removed it from the shelf and hopped out of the room. It was then that you noticed a trail of blood that covered the floor. You sighed and made your way upstairs, knowing that Noah would want you to clean it up.

You entered Noah's room and limped over to his wardrobe. You were able to observe Noah's room full since you only briefly saw it the day before.

Noah's bed was a very pale shade of blue, and the walls were white just like Noah's desk and wardrobe. The curtains were navy blue, and so was the carpet. You noticed that there was a photo of Noah and Amelia hanging up on the wall to the left of Noah's bed. In the picture, they appeared to be at some fancy red restaurant, and they both looked happy.

You turned away from the photo and opened Noah's wardrobe. At the bottom of it was different pairs of shoes along with a small metal sewing box. You opened the box to see a credit card, a satellite phone, and a handgun among various sewing items just like Noah said.

Your curiosity got the better of you, and you picked up the stainless steel handgun and observed it. It appeared to be a 9 millimeter SIG P226 model. Luckily it had the safety on as you checked to see if it was loaded, and to your surprise it was.

You felt the cool metal against your fingers and felt the heavy weight of it in your hand. You playfully pointed it at the wall and pretended to shoot it like you were in some cliché cop movie. You also noticed that there was also a small cardboard box with extra ammo inside as well. After you had your fun, you put the gun down and grabbed the tweezers.

You closed the sewing box and shut the wardrobe. However, just as you were about to leave you noticed a picture laid out on Noah's desk.

You observed the items on Noah's desk and noticed that they mainly consisted of pencils, paintbrushes, pens, paint, charcoal and so on. The picture was only a quarter of the way done with just the background of far left side drawn with the rest of the page being completely blank. The drawing seemed to be a monochrome oil pastel drawing of Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. You remembered going there with your aunt, uncle, and Noah when you were six.

You then turned away and suddenly noticed that blood was dripping onto Noah's carpet. You muttered a swear and quickly dashed out of the room, to prevent any more blood from dripping down onto the floor and soaking into the rug that you would have a hard time cleaning.

You made your way into your room and placed your foot on your lap. You then grabbed the tweezers and braced yourself.

After ten painful minutes, you managed to remove the tiny glass shard from your foot after you were forced to lodge the metal tweezers into the wound to pull out the small glass shard. You made sure to put the shard in the bin to avoid stepping on it again. You then cleaned the injury with an alcohol wipe before washing away the dried blood and applying a plaster.

You then put the tweezers and first aid kit away before grabbing a sponge and some cleaning liquid. You then made your way over to the trail of blood and began cleaning.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You had finally finished cleaning when it reached one o'clock. You then grabbed your bag of DVDs and pulled out Bambi. You put the DVD in the tray before flopping down on the couch. You picked up the remote along with a blanket and turned on the TV as you opened your Pitt Cola and Cheese Boodles.

For the rest of the afternoon, you spent the time wrapped in a blanket shivering while watching Bambi and The Little Mermaid. Luckily, despite your anger at the cold temperatures, your mood improved when you didn't find the Cheese Boodles to be that bad. So alas you ended up finishing the packet.

A few minutes after you finished The Little Mermaid, Noah got home. You observed his appearance to see that he was sweaty and covered in sawdust and had pine leaves in his hair. You looked him up and down while Noah just raised an eyebrow at your actions.

"I'm going to get changed and have a shower. I'll begin making dinner after that."

"'Kay."

Noah then descended the stairs, and five minutes later you heard the water start running.

You just observed your plaster for a few seconds before picking up the remote to turn on the news.

The first thing you noticed was the 'Breaking News' on the front of the screen before it quickly switched to the news reporter.

You blinked, recognizing her immediately. She was the woman in the street who was standing in front of the camera.

The woman droned on about upcoming events in Gravity Falls such as Fishing Season. Nothing of what she said interested you, so you tuned out of what she was saying until the very end.

_"—I'm Shandra Jimenez and now here's the upcoming weather."_

The screen cut to a dark-haired man in a suit with a green tie.

_"The weather tomorrow will likely be cloudy with a few patches of sunlight throughout the afternoon. As for Friday, it is likely to remain sunny throughout the day with a small increase in temperatures up to fifty degrees Fahrenheit. As for Saturday the heat and sun tend to stay with temperatures increasing up to fifty-five degrees. And lastly, for Sunday it will remain sunny but with temperatures remaining at the highest of only fifty-one degrees. This has been Gravity Falls weather, have a nice evening."_

Fifty-five degrees? _Fifty-five degrees?_ _That's_ the highest it was getting? Back in Orlando, the average temperature rocketed to as high as ninety-two degrees! You wanted to go cry. It was so bloody cold in Gravity Falls you had no idea what to do with yourself!

You then heard Noah come downstairs in a plain navy blue T-shirt, some jeans, and slightly worn trainers.

At that moment you saw how ripped Noah actually was. Due to him wearing a T-shirt you got a good view of his arms and were just able to make out a toned stomach through the shirt. You remembered that Noah never used to be that well built and was quite thin and slightly scrawny back when he was younger.

You assumed that his job as a lumberjack kept him in shape since you knew for a fact that Noah wasn't a gym person. He was more likely to go out jogging in the woods or go out hiking in the mountains. You would have drooled if it wasn't for the fact that he was your cousin. So instead, you were just going to give him a silent round of applause for achieving a good body. It really made you wonder why Amelia dumped him; you certainly wouldn't if you were in his position.

You carried on watching the TV with little interest as you watched an advert for the upcoming next season of 'Duck-tective' while Noah made the dinner.

Within ten minutes you got called into the dining room. After you sat down, you saw Noah enter with a large bowl of chicken noodle soup. He then placed down a large spoon along with two dishes.

As soon as you got the bowl, you silently grabbed the giant spoon and began to scoop some soup out into your bowl.

"How's your foot?" Noah asked as he poured some apple juice into his glass.

You lifted your foot and showed him the plaster. He nodded in acknowledgment and handed you the juice carton.

"So how was your day?" he then asked as he scooped some soup into his bowl.

"Signed up at the gym, bought some DVDs and a wifi router, texted mom, saw some teenagers setting fire to a shirt and then watched Bambi and The Little Mermaid for the rest of the day."

"Sounds eventful. I hope those teens didn't get chased by the cops again."

"You know them?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not personally, they're Wendy's friends. They show up at where I work from time to time in that blue van of theirs to collect Wendy and go do God knows what. They sometimes hang around here to skip school and cause trouble."

"I see," you couldn't say that you didn't relate. Although you didn't set fire to tops, you and Alec sometimes skipped school to go shoplifting or to go have a drink in Engelwood Park.

Though speaking of Alec, you thought that you should text him to ask how his holiday was going and where he mysteriously pissed off to.

"You should try and make some friends. The kids in that group are about your age. They seem to adopt any cool person above the age of thirteen, so I'm sure you'd fit right in."

"Was that a compliment Noah (Surname)?" you playfully gasped. Noah just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but don't get used to it since I'm just stating the obvious. I know for a fact that you're definitely not a loser so I see no reason why you couldn't appeal to them."

"Well you are correct," you smirked as you admired your nails, "But I'm not really I'm looking for a new gang."

"Suit yourself. But are you really planning to just go to the gym, text your friends and watch Disney films for the whole time you're here? Because if that's the case, then you could have easily done that at home; no point being here."

"You make it sound like it was my choice to come. Truth is, I'm supposed to be in school right now and then be on the plane to LA a week Friday, so after I discovered that wasn't going to happen, I opted to just stay home until further notice. That was until I got flown here. The only reason I came was to get a week off school and since it was already planned before I could say no."

"Well isn't that a story," Noah replied with sarcasm before taking a sip of his drink.

You rolled your eyes and drank your soup. You finished your dinner with no more talk between you and Noah. The silence was comfortable but neither you or Noah could think of anything to say, so you both said nothing.

After dinner, you went into the living room to watch The Shining. Noah came in after clearing away the table.

_"Here's Johnny!"_

"(Name), it's nine o'clock."

"Well can I at least watch the rest of it?"

"But you're going to take ages getting ready for bed."

"I'm not wearing any makeup, and I can shower in the morning."

"What about the other stuff?"

"Well, it's Wednesday, so I need to do my weekly fifteen-minute face mask. And I also need to clean my face, brush my teeth, exfoliate, moisturize—"

"—Okay I get it, how long is that going to take?"

"How should I know?" you shrugged.

"Go do it now and be quick."

"But the film isn't finished."

"You can watch it in the morning."

"Oh yeah, the last ten minutes," you responded sarcastically.

"Go."

You huffed and grabbed your phone as exited the room. Why did Noah always have to be such a dick? You didn't understand why you had a bedtime; you were almost legally an adult.

You went upstairs and began to get ready for bed. You spent a bit of time getting changed and washing your face before applying your face mask and lying down on your bed for fifteen minutes. After that, you brushed your teeth, moisturized and brushed your hair.

After a while, you closed the door and curtains and got into bed.

"Goodnight Colin," you smiled as you turned off the light.

After a few moments of just lying in the darkness, you felt sleep beckoning you into its clutches as you slowly lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm uploading more as we speak. Hopefully, this will be all caught up soon so Chapter 7 can be uploaded once I've written it!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	6. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 4: Strange Behaviour ▲

**Arrival Arc: Strange Behavior **

* * *

You turned over onto your side as you heard Noah's heavy footsteps from downstairs.

You had just been woken up by a loud thump that came from the living room. Now you just heard a constant symphony of footsteps and shuffling.

You glared at the red digits on your alarm clock. The time read '2:12.'

You sighed through your nose as you closed your eyes and rolled onto your stomach. You did your best to ignore the sounds of walking coming from downstairs, but it was proving to be very difficult.

You stretched out onto your bed with a groan and quickly noticed that your left arm and leg were now hanging out of the small single bed. You mentally sighed and pulled them back in. You forgot that you were in a different bed. You weren't used to sleeping in a single. Your bed back at home was much bigger and allowed you to spread your arms and legs out like an octopus.

You heard the footsteps walk out of the living room and walk into the kitchen that was directly below your room. You listened to the opening and closing of the fridge before you heard the footsteps travel back into the living room.

You then heard the TV turn on.

"We now return to the Gravity Falls all-night movie marathon! Next up, The Curse of the Cursed Person Who was Cursed!" Noah let out a weird laugh before the TV went to the commercials.

You groaned as you pulled the sheets over your head. If you weren't too tired, you would have yelled at him to turn the bloody thing off.

 _'I'm going to give him the biggest mouthful in the morning...'_ you thought as you lay there trying to get back to sleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Just like yesterday, you got woken up by the sound of knocking on your door. You groaned as the door opened and in came your cousin.

"I'm going to leave now so you'll have to make yourself some breakfast this morning. Now get up."

You just groaned from under the covers. You then felt them suddenly getting pulled off you.

"God, why are you so tired?"

"Oh, I don't know maybe because it's nearly seven and I got no sleep last night!"

"You need to go to bed when I tell you then—"

"—No, I'm tired because you were wandering about downstairs and turning the TV on at two in the morning!"

Noah just clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room. He was making this out as if this was _your_ fault? Great...

You would have chased after him, but you were still tired, so you just crawled over and grabbed the sheets before pulling them back over your body, so they covered your whole form. Within a few minutes, you had fallen back asleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You woke up naturally to see that it had just gone nine o'clock. You removed the sheets from your body and got out of bed and stretched.

"Morning Colin," you grinned as you got up and checked his plant pot. As expected, it was bone dry.

You looked down and observed the pink plant. Colin was an Echinocereus rigidissimus, also known as an Arizona Rainbow Cactus. He usually flowered from late April to early June sprouting a pretty little pink flower or two.

You picked the cactus up and closely observed the top of the plant. Unfortunately for you, there was no sign of a flower blooming anytime soon. The plant only had a pink tint.

You were worried about Colin's flowering. He usually began to flower in the middle of May and stopped blooming when it neared June. It was already nearly the end of May and June would start on Sunday, so maybe he wasn't flowering this year? Or it was a sign he was dying. Oh God, you hoped you hadn't killed him by bringing him to a state with a colder climate and the sudden drop in temperature upset him. However...he was a cactus so wasn't he born to endure harsh climates?

You shook it off, telling yourself he was just a bit late blooming this year and went into the bathroom to run the tap over Colin's soil. After it was damp, you went back to your room to put him on the windowsill before exiting and making your way downstairs.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You spent the whole of Thursday watching more of the films you bought the day before after you took a quick trip to the gym.

Gravity Falls gym was weird. On one side of the spectrum were the overly buff men trying to maintain their toned stomachs and big biceps; while on the other side of the spectrum were the fat and scrawny people trying to either lose some weight, gain some muscle or develop a more admirable body. As for you, you were just there to maintain your usual routine and stop yourself from gaining weight from all of the crap you had recently been eating.

You grabbed the sandwich you just made and a Pitt Cola and wandered into the living room. So far you had watched Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan and the whole of Stephen King's IT.

You had only bought eight films from the shop. The only two movies that you hadn't watched yet were Saw and Halloween.

You placed the food on the coffee table and walked up to the shelves of Noah's films. You observed the DVDs and eventually settled on Men in Black 3.

You put the film in and sat down. The movie began to play, and you were sprawled out on the couch without a care in the world.

After you were thirty minutes into the film, Noah came home. You looked over at him as he made his way upstairs while coughing.

"I'll be making dinner soon!" he said as he went up to his room.

You blinked and turned back toward the TV. You watched the film until Noah finished making dinner. Luckily the movie ended before Noah called you into the dining room.

After you sat down, Noah came in with a venison stir-fry and cranberry juice. After you served yourself, Noah began talking.

"By the way, there is somewhere I need to go on Saturday. You can come with me if you want."

"Where is it?"

"I don't know, somewhere outside of Gravity Falls. Anyway, do you want to come or not?"

"Yeah, sure..." you mumbled as Noah coughed a bit, letting out a small wheezing sound.

"You okay?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Later on, you went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. By the time you were drying your wet hair, Noah had told you to go to sleep.

You then got into bed after connecting your phone to the charger near your bed. You then turned off the light and wished Colin goodnight before falling asleep within a few minutes.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You looked around and found yourself at your school back in Florida. You were standing in the middle of the school gymnasium alone with no one else inhabiting the room.

You furrowed your eyebrows and headed towards the exit, entering the hallway that led to the pool and entrance to the building.

You speed walked through the corridor before turning a sharp corner and freezing, getting the scare of your life.

"Jesus, Alec!" you let out as Alec leaned against the white brick wall. He turned to you with a lopsided smirk and pushed off the wall. "What time is it? Have we missed class?" you asked.

"No, we're fine," he smiled as he motioned for you to start walking with him, "we've got a free period now anyway."

You hastily followed, thinking he was going to exit the building, until he made a right, heading in the direction of the swimming pool.

"Uh, why are we going this way?" you asked.

"I need to show you something; it's quite important," he replied.

"Okay...?" you replied. What he could ever possibly have to show you in the pool, was beyond you.

You glanced at the brunette with a small frown. Alec's face was devoid of any emotion, but not in the way you were familiar with. Usually, Alec looked as if he was about to nod off, and therefore lacked much visual emotion. However, this was different. He seemed very awake and almost seemed troubled.

"How are things so far?" he suddenly asked.

"Uh, well, normal. Been struggling with the homework from Mr. Taylor, I'm just too tired to do it, and I've had foot cramp recently..."

"Sorry to hear that, but I meant about your trip."

"What trip?" you asked, not understanding. Alec stopped and turned to you with no emotion present on his face. He silently stared at you for a moment, almost as if he was staring into your soul. You felt slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, as his honey-colored eyes bore into your own.

"Sorry..."

"Huh?"

"Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" you asked. He was acting really weird, and it was at that moment you began to feel concerned.

"For asking you all these questions when you have no idea about your current predicament. I didn't know, sorry."

"What do you mean?" Alec was acting strange and was being all mysterious about this. "By the way, I don't want to sound like that guy, but don't you think one of the PE teachers will find us here?"

"(Name)—"

"—Just saying, I've already had two referrals this week, and you just had a suspension last month, so I want to let things blow over for now. Do you wanna' make this quick?"

"(Name), you're dreaming right now."

Your eyes widened in shock.

In that split second, it felt as if a window had just shattered. It was like you were finally able to see the outside for what it really was instead of through a strange window that distorted your perception of reality.

You looked around, and the whole corridor seemed different. Physically, it looked the same, but all of your surroundings felt fake like a simulation — an artificial 3D world; a video game setting.

"Come on," Alec said and motioned forward. You silently followed him, perplexed that you had your first lucid dream.

You and Alec walked a bit further but soon made it to the pool. You both walked through the empty Men's changing room, before walking over to the poolside.

The first thing you noticed as you entered the room, was that the roof window above the pool. Instead of showing the usual blue cloud-filled sky, they provided you with a view of space. If Alec's words weren't enough to convince you that you were dreaming, then this certainly did. It was definitely something that you would only see in your dreams.

You looked up, mesmerized at the splash of purples, cobalt blues, cerulean, whites and pinks that all faded into each other like paint. Amongst those colors, scattered everywhere like silver glitter were billions of stars. You could also see a couple of planets, but none that you could recognize. One of them looked a weird cross between Neptune and Uranus, while another looked like a lot like earth but with more water and the land was cut up into tiny sections that were scattered across the planet instead of giant chunks of green all being meshed together in various spots. As for the last one, it kind of looked like Jupiter but smaller and colored indigo as if the planet was colored in by a preschooler.

The longer your stared at it, the more you could see. You then saw two smaller planets come into view. They orbited the Jupiter-like planet, and you suddenly realized, they were moons. The first one was a mix of colors and glowed from seafoam green to mint to a soft teal, while the other gleamed a luminous coral pink.

The whole view was beautifully captivating and almost bewitching to the eyes.

You finally shifted your gaze away from the beautiful cosmic sight and turned to Alec, "So, is this what you wanted to show me?"

"No, as enrapturing as it is, that's not what I wanted to show you."

"Well, present then," you said with a shrug.

Alec turned his head to the pool as the water began to ripple. You took a step closer to get a better look as the pool floor slowly disappeared, only to be replaced with four images.

One of the images showed your dad. He looked much younger and was standing in front of a roulette table. He was laughing and was taking sips from a glass of whiskey as the people around him clapped. He wore a stupid grin as you watched him put all in, as everyone else cheered. You didn't want to know how much each of those chips was worth, but he was obviously drunk and was _obviously_ doing something very stupid. You frowned and turned to the next image.

The next image was of Colin. He was in full bloom, and he stood there on the windowsill of the triangular window. The window was open, and the soft breeze blew the curtains backward as Colin peacefully stood there as the sun shone upon him. You felt some confusion and turned to the next image.

This one was of you. It was the most depressing one. You sat on your bed in your room back at home. You were crying, and you were chugging down a bottle of triple distilled vodka. You watched yourself take a swig at the bottle before lying down on your bed and wiping at the tears that ran down your face. You instantly felt worried and bit your lip out of nervousness.

The last image was of Amelia. She was walking in the forest alone and looked very angry. You watched her walk up to run down shack and share a few words with an old man, who pointed her in a specific direction, she then headed that way before all of the images cut out and disappeared.

"I'm sorry I can't show you that much, but I'm using a lot of energy just doing this since I'm bending the laws of nature by showing you images of both past and future. However, I wanted to show you this before your thoughts no longer become private."

"No longer become private?" you asked as you turned to him.

"Yes, but unfortunately I can't explain it to you. It's a future event, and I've used up all my energy."

"I see..." you replied and glanced back up at the window, to still see the stars glistening, and the planets gracefully floating in space.

At that moment a thought came to you. "Hey..." you said to Alec as he turned to you.

"What is it?"

"If I'm dreaming, then it's very unlikely that you're the real Alec."

"Well, if you're alluding to dream telepathy, then you're right. I'm not the real Alec; I'm your own subconscious taking the form of a person you deeply trust. I'm also assuming his appearance since you were recently thinking of him in your waking life. As for our current setting, we're here at school since this is the place that you mostly associate your _friend_ with. Though despite what I've just said, I'm sure some would argue that whether I'm Alec or not is up to your own interpretation. Who's to say I am, who's to say I'm not, and who's to say I can or can't assume both roles."

"Wow, interesting stuff..."

"I think you came to that conclusion since I didn't do a very good job of mimicking his real personality."

"I guess that's true; you're a lot more mysterious and less silly."

'Alec' laughed and stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his red hoodie.

"By the way, you're going to wake up soon."

"Aw, but I don't want to, this is amazing!" you grinned.

"Try and keep your voice down..." Alec replied with a worried expression.

"How come?"

Before Alec could reply, the world around you began to flash in and out of existence. One minute you could see the pool and Alec, the next it was just black. The world also shook and rumbled as you fell to the floor from not being able to keep your balance standing up. The room and the water shook like it was the middle of an earthquake.

"What's happening?" you asked Alec.

"He heard us..." he said with worry. "I'm going to have to cut this short."

"Uh, who?"

"You'll find out later down the road, come on," he said as he held his hand out to you, hauling you up onto your feet and holding you to help steady you from falling back down again.

Alec then guided you over to the deep end of the pool.

"You can't tell anyone about any of this, especially not your cousin."

"Uh, why?" you asked very confusedly.

"I'll do my best to contact you again, but I can't make any promises. And sorry if you feel crappy when you wake up, the energy I used was yours. I am basically you after all," he replied ignoring your previous question.

Before you could reply, Alec pushed you into the pool. You landed with a loud splash before everything around you suddenly went black.

The feeling of the water disappeared, and you suddenly felt like you were falling at high speed. You couldn't see anything around you, but your eyes felt like they were closed.

You kept falling until you felt like you had hit the hard ground.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"Ugh!" you let out as you felt the wind escape you. Your head quickly shot up as you frantically looked around in confusion.

You could barely make out the room. You looked up at your bed to see that you had fallen on to the floor. You groaned and rubbed your head from the harsh impact and sighed in relief as the memories of reality suddenly came back to you.

You sat up from your sprawled position on the floor and looked up at the clock. The red numbers read '3:41'.

You stood up and rubbed your eyes with a stretch. You heard Noah wandering around in the living room as you slipped on your kimono. You looked slightly indecent since you were wearing satin Victoria's Secret pajama shorts and cami; so it may have looked like you weren't wearing anything underneath your kimono. However you were tired, and it was only Noah, and he wouldn't care, so you exited the room and made your way downstairs, not bothering to put on your slippers.

You descended the staircase and heard a small thump come from the living room before some shuffling. As you got to the end of the stairs, the shuffling stopped.

You glanced at the door to the living room. It was closed, but golden light escaped from under the door into the dark hallway. You just decided just to ignore it and enter the kitchen.

You walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a mug and set it on the counter. You then filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove as you opened another cabinet that held all of the tea and coffee.

You had a tradition that whenever you woke up in the middle of the night with enough energy to get out of bed, you would always go downstairs and make yourself a hot drink.

You dug around in the cabinet trying to decide what hot drink you fancied. Surprisingly enough, Noah seemed to have a large variety of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate.

As you were digging around in the cabinet, you heard the living room door open as footsteps made their way into the kitchen. You dug around more with furrowed eyebrows as you read the writing on each box. The footsteps entered the kitchen before eventually stopping a few meters away from you.

"Hey, do you have any decaf coffee?" you asked as you pulled out one of the coffee boxes and read the front of the packet. You read the label and sighed as you put it back on the cabinet before reaching out to view another one.

"Try looking toward the back of the cabinet toots."

You blinked and turned to Noah.

He was leaning on the fridge with his arms folded as he watched you dig around in the cabinet. You stared at him with a raised eyebrow. Despite him wearing an enormous Cheshire cat smile, his eyebrows suddenly raised in interest as you turned to him and your eyes fixed on his.

You slowly turned away from him with an odd look as you tried to dig around towards the back. Unfortunately for you, it was hard to reach due to the cabinet being stuffed full of various boxes.

"Fuck this," you huffed as you began to pull everything out, observing each and every box. You went through each one until you finally found some decaffeinated coffee. You grinned but then saw the expiry date which said '08/22/12'.

You growled and tossed it into the bin before looking among the other boxes. You noticed one and held it up with a raised eyebrow.

"Jesus Noah, you don't have any in date decaf coffee, but you have Turkish Apple Tea?"

Noah just laughed, something that you weren't aware that he could do.

"Anyway, did you need something?" you sighed as you just grabbed the box of Earl Grey.

"Ah, nothing much; just wondering why you're up," he shrugged as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his grey hoodie.

"I fell out of bed after you woke me up. What the hell have you been doing in there for the past few days, Jesus," you replied as you motioned to the living room and placed a teabag inside the cup. Noah just hummed and didn't respond as the kettle made a whistle indicating that the water had boiled. You walked over to the stove and removed the kettle from the heat. "Do you want any tea or coffee?" you asked as you poured the hot water into the cup.

"I'll have some of what you're having," he grinned with a shrug. You nodded as you set the kettle down and grabbed another cup from the cabinet. You grabbed another teabag and dumped it inside as you poured the hot water into the mug.

You then walked over to the fridge where Noah was currently leaning, and you cleared your throat, indicating to him that you needed him to move so you could open it. His smile widened as he pushed away from the fridge to get out of your way.

He watched intently as you opened the door and reached for the milk. As soon as you pulled it out and closed the fridge, you turned around only to slightly jump when you realized how close Noah was to you now.

You stared at him and looked at him weirdly as he loomed over your small figure with a huge toothy grin.

He was so close to the point where your torsos were almost touching. You could feel the body heat radiating off him and his warm breath softly fanning your face as you stood there not to sure how to react to the current situation.

You felt the atmosphere suddenly become awkward as he just stared down at you with a smile that you were starting to find kind of creepy. You sweat dropped as you looked away, brushed it off and quickly slipped away from him to make a beeline to the bench on the other side of the room.

Noah watched you hastily walk over to the cups and set the milk down. You grabbed a teaspoon and scooped out the teabags from each cup before reaching over to grab the jar of sugar cubes.

You set the jar of sugar cubes on the bench as you briefly turned away to put the box of tea back in the cabinet before turning back around.

"How many su—gah!" you exclaimed as your eyes widened as Noah dumped the whole jar of sugar cubes into his tea. He then began to pour half of the carton of milk on top of the Mount Kilimanjaro of sugar cubes as you paled. "Noah!" you yelled as you dashed over to your cousin and grabbed the milk off him before he could waste anymore. You sighed at the sugar cubes scattered in every direction and the milk that dripped from the bench onto the floor.

Noah just innocently grinned as you quickly poured some of the milk into your mug and picked up some sugar cubes that had scattered onto the bench. You dropped four of them into your tea before you put the milk back in the fridge. You looked back at Noah's cup and with a worried expression. Jesus Christ, and you thought you put too much sugar in your tea...

"I like my tea sugary," he grinned.

"Yeah I can see that..." you sweat dropped as you stirred your tea to help the sugar dissolve.

Noah picked up his mug and followed you out into the hallway. You stopped in front of the living room door with a confused expression as you looked around.

"Uh, light reading?" you asked as you viewed the living room where hundreds of books were messily scattered across the floor.

"Mmm, something like that," he shrugged with a smile.

You turned to Noah and observed him again. He was acting really odd...

You slowly turned away and walked into the dining room and sat down at the table. Noah sat opposite you and grinned.

"So how ya' been, toots?"

Your eye twitched. There it was again, 'toots.'

"Uh, I'm fine..." you replied as you took a sip of your tea while Noah began to nibble away the stack of milk covered sugar cubes.

You watched him with a worried expression as he happily picked up each individual sugar cube and tossed it into his mouth before swallowing it whole and reaching for another.

You bit your nail, wondering what was up with him. Noah barely ever smiled, and he had definitely never called you 'toots' before. Maybe he was drunk?

"Hey Noah, are you like...okay?" you asked him as you gazed at him with worry. Noah looked up from his mug with a grin.

"Never better!"

You slowly nodded your head in acknowledgment before taking a sip of your tea.

"Hey, kid?" you looked back up at Noah. "Can I borrow that wifi router that you bought? And your laptop?"

"Uh, sure but I haven't gotten the wifi router up and running yet."

"Oh don't worry about that I'll handle it."

"Do you even know how electronics work?" you asked with a raised eyebrow. Noah just laughed.

"Don't worry about it, I'll surely figure it out," he said with a wink.

"Okay then..." you replied as you another sip of your tea, not believing that for a second.

Well, he certainly seemed much happier. He was smiling and was chattier than usual. However, he was acting strange. Although you decided to ignore it, for now, you couldn't help but wonder why he was acting so out of character. Maybe it was just a one-off thing, or perhaps this was some weird result of sleep deprivation. However, if it continued you would confront him about it.

"Why do you need my laptop anyway? Better yet, why do you need wifi. You somehow survived without it up until now so why the sudden need?"

"Oh, I just need to look up something online. Nothing big. I would have gone to the library and used one of the public computers, but I thought why bother with the trip when my dear cousin has a laptop of her own upstairs," he replied placed his head in his hand and grinned at you. You slightly cringed at those words that were obviously intended to sound sweet. Instead, they just sounded cheesy and cringe-inducing.

"Okay, when do you want it?"

_'He's gonna' want it now isn't he?'_

"Now would be good."

_'Great.'_

"Uh, okay," you said as you got up and quickly ran upstairs to your room.

Once you got to your room, you went over to your laptop bag and grabbed your computer before grabbing the wifi router out of the white shopping bag.

You then returned downstairs to see your cousin still munching away at the sugar cubes. He looked up and grinned at you as you placed the laptop and router down on the table.

Noah immediately began to open the box of the wifi router as you sat back down. You silently watched him recklessly tear open the cardboard box and wrapping while making a huge mess on the table. He then pulled out the router and wires before pushing the wrapping and empty box to the side.

"By the way, you're going to have to trust the manual since I can't use my 4G to look up a MikiHow."

"Don't worry, toots," Noah replied as he quickly connected each wire to the device, "I alone am sufficient."

You blinked as Noah quickly walked over to the cabinet and connected the two wires to the nearby plug sockets. The black box then lit up before he returned back to the table. You sat there feeling quite confused as to how Noah suddenly knew how to set up wifi. Noah had trouble just working the microwave yesterday so what happened between then and now was a real mystery.

You took another sip of your tea, as you mentally told yourself to stop thinking so hard since it had just gone four o'clock and you were still quite tired. You silently watched as Noah opened up your laptop with a grin before pressing the 'on' button and then just waiting.

A minute passed before he looked back at you.

"I need you to type in your password."

"Oh, right," you responded as you placed down your cup and quickly moved to the chair next to him to grab your laptop and type in your password. You promptly typed it in before handing him back the laptop.

He then went to the 'Settings' and set up the new wifi faster than you ever saw anyone do before he closed the window. You turned away and looked down at your mug, looking at your reflection in the nude colored liquid as you run your finger across the rim of the cup.

It had been a while since you had Earl Grey. The taste and aroma always brought back some nostalgia to when you went over to your grandparents' house. Your grandmother loved both Earl Grey and Lady Grey, so she always served you some when you were little. Eventually, both passed away, and it had been a few years since you had a cup.

You turned to look back at Noah to see him just staring at the laptop screen with a smile. You began to wonder why he was just sitting there staring at the screen before you noticed the blank look subtly underneath the broad grin he wore.

You moved your gaze to the laptop to see that he was just blankly staring at your home screen. You looked back at him while he turned to look at you.

"You don't know how the hell to use a laptop do you?" you deadpanned.

"I can't find Internet Discoverer."

Your face suddenly twisted into a look of disgust as you visibly recoiled from his previous statement, "Ugh! I don't use Internet Discoverer; I use Waterfox! What do think I am, some kind of peasant?"

Noah laughed as you drank the rest of your tea.

Your cousin then went onto Muzilla Waterfox and waited for the screen to load. You watched as the screen immediately took you to Goodle.

You watched as Noah typed in 'Missing Journal 3' into the search bar. You then grabbed your cup as he clicked onto the first link.

"You want any more tea?" you asked as you stood up.

"Make me some more of that stuff, and make sure you add a lot of sugar," he replied with a wink as he shoved his empty cup into your arms.

You grumbled and walked back into the kitchen to fill the kettle again and place it back on the stove.

You washed out each cup and dried them before placing two new teabags in each one. You then put seven sugar cubes into Noah's mug before putting four into your own. You then waited for the kettle to boil before pouring the hot water into each cup.

After removing the two teabags, pouring in the milk and stirring each cup, you quickly reentered the dining room to see Noah on Twitting.

You placed each cup down as you got a better a look at the screen. He seemed to be looking at each photo posted by some account known as 'Oregon Parks Dept.'

"You borrowed my laptop, to go on Twitting?" you asked as you folded your arms.

"I'm looking for a certain something," he replied as he scrolled down. "Aha!" he grinned as he read the description. You read it too with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

_Found a lost book in the forest today, does anyone know who this belongs to? Name was torn out. #OregonParksDept_

* * *

The picture was of an old book. It was burgundy and had a golden six-fingered handprint on the front with a '3' written on the front in black paint. The book appeared old and was slightly worn. It was laying on the grass and was covered in a bit of dirt.

Noah scrolled up, and you got glimpses of some of the pages in the book. Just like the cover, they were old and were a light brown color as if they had been tea-stained by an art student.

Noah kept scrolling up until he came to the most recent image of the book. It was packed away in a clear bag with 'Item #618' written on a white piece of tape that was stuck to the bag.

Noah then opened a new tab and typed in 'Oregon Parks Department bake-off' into Goodle. You silently watched him click on the first link that led to the official website of the organization. As soon as he was brought to the page, there was a giant banner at the top advertising a festival of some description.

* * *

_Oregon Parks Department invites you to our annual Confiscated Items Sale/Bake-Off!_

_Come and enjoy an event for all of the family! Many confiscated items will be for sale in the Parks Department Confiscated Items tent along with many other stalls selling food, clothes, second-hand items, books, and more!_

_Bounce houses will be available for the kids, along with go-kart racing, pony rides, water zorbing, and owl showcasing. Also, take part in our Parks Department park tour where one of our park rangers give you a tour of the forest with the chance to spot the beautiful western meadowlark and Molly, the moose!_

_May 31st–June 1st_

_Open from 9 am to 4 pm._

_Tickets available online._

_Click **here** to see more._

* * *

"Uh, is this the thing you were talking about earlier?"

"Sure is, that book is very important, it sure is a miracle I found it!" he laughed. He then clicked on the link and wrote down the details while you silently turned away and took a few gulps of your tea. You decided that you would go back upstairs after you finished your drink.

You looked back at Noah after you suddenly heard the sound of your laptop shut with a 'click.' He then fully turned to you and rested his head in his hand as he smirked at you with a hint of mischief in his eye. You blinked, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Uh, you finished?" you asked even though you already knew the answer. The brunette nodded with a hum as his eyes never left your form. You awkwardly glanced down at your tea to notice that there was only about a quarter of the liquid left. You could feel your cousin's eyes burning holes into your skull as you brought the mug back to your lips, drinking the rest of the contents before quickly standing up. "Well, in that case, I guess I might as well head back upstairs," you turned around and headed through the door behind you that led into the kitchen.

As soon as you opened the door, you heard the wooden chair screech against the floor as Noah got up to follow you in. You ignored him and washed out your cup, placing it on the side of the sink so it could be properly washed along with all of the other dishes in the morning.

You felt Noah slowly walk up to you from behind and get up in your personal space again.

You felt a weird shiver travel up your spine as you felt the distance between your bodies decrease. He towered over you from behind as you literally heard his large toothy grin from behind.

You sensed that he was about to do or say something but before he could you quickly turned to the right to head out of the door. However, you only got a few steps before you were stopped by Noah grabbing your upper arm. You looked up at him with confusion.

"You're always running around, kid. We haven't had any chance to sit down and talk."

"We were just sitting down though—"

"—I was distracted. Come into the living room, and we'll talk."

"I'm tired," you replied. Despite just having two cups of Earl Grey, you were still quite sleepy, and you wanted to fill in the extra hours before you would be harshly woken up at six. Luckily tea didn't have the same effect on you as coffee did so you would be able to sleep soundly. "Can't we just talk tomorrow night?" you asked before suddenly realizing, "or later today actually..." you corrected, glancing at the wall clock that read '4:31.'

"I won't be here later today, but I guess we can chat soon," he shrugged as he folded his arms, letting go of your arm in the process.

You stared up at your cousin and looked him in the eye while unconsciously rubbing the area where his hand had previously was. You were silent for a few seconds staring into his hazel eyes.

Although...they weren't hazel.

They were a golden yellow with long black slits.

They reminded you of cats eyes.

You blinked as Noah turned away from you. You attempted to look at his eyes again, but he had turned his head away.

"Uh, any particular reason why you won't be here later?" you asked, breaking the silence as you began to walk to the staircase. Noah stuffed his hands in his jean pockets with his Cheshire cat grin returning.

"You'll see," he chuckled. You would have pushed further, but you were exhausted to the point where you could hear your bed calling to you from upstairs. So instead of questioning him further, you walked up to the staircase and began to ascend to the second floor. "Hey toots!" he suddenly called out causing you to turn your head back to him with a slightly vexed look at the new pet name. Jesus, what year was he living in? The 1930s?

"What?" you huffed. You just wanted to go back to bed. What did he want _now_?

"You look nice in that kimono."

You blinked and looked down at yourself. You felt your cheeks warm as the same weird shiver traveled up your spine again. You would have taken it as a casual compliment but the way he said it was flirty. That and you looked quite indecent. You glared and blushed as he grinned, leaning against the white wall.

"Noah! You can't say stuff like that! We're cousins, stop being weird!"

You now take it back. Maybe it _did_ matter what you wore around him. Perhaps he was flirting with you to fill that now empty void of not having Amelia around anymore?

_'Damn, he must be more depressed than I thought...'_

He chuckled as you turned around and made your way upstairs feeling Noah's eyes burn into the back of your form as you jogged up the stairs before quickly disappearing out of view.

Once you got back to your room, you sat on your bed and stared at the floral wall letting your mind go over what just happened.

What the hell was that? Why was Noah acting so weird? And why did he flirt with you like that? You could have misinterpreted it but based on the reaction you got after calling him out on it and the way he said it; you highly doubted that he meant it in any other context. Also, the way he kept invading your personal space was quite strange as well.

You sighed and rubbed your head from the developing migraine of tiredness. Perhaps you were just overreacting. You decided to see how things were in the morning. Maybe he was just tired, and this was some weird effect of it. He _had_ been staying up late for the past few days—possibly even longer.

You sighed, crawled over to the top of the bed and got inside after switching off the light on your bedside table. After finally getting comfortable you lay your head on the soft pillow and closed your eyes. Within five minutes you were once again fast asleep.

You would need your energy for the upcoming events...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This isn't Bill's 'full debut'—that will come later—but I have lightly hinted at Bill's presence in chapters 2 and 3. Though, a lot of questions surround the relationship between Noah and Bill. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	7. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 5: A Breath of Sawdust ▲

**Arrival Arc: A Breath of Sawdust **

* * *

Your eyes snapped open, and you let out a scream as soon as you felt the sheets getting pulled off you.

You looked up to see Noah staring down at you with a quizzical brow. You glared up at him.

"Can you stop doing that, it's freezing!"

"Do you want me to pour water on you instead?"

"Shit, you're really horrible you know that? Can't you just get me up like a normal person?"

"If I attempt to do it that way you won't get up at all."

As much as you hated to admit it, he had a point. Ever since you were six, Ava usually had to shake you or persistently call your name until you opened your eyes. You could sleep through the apocalypse if given the chance.

You growled and glared up at him while Noah just ignored your hostile behavior and continued to talk.

"I have a job for you to do. I don't have time to go shopping today, and we're running low on stuff like food for dinner, so I need you to go into town and buy some stuff. I've left a shopping list and some money on the dining room table."

You groaned and rolled onto your stomach, "Ugh, just order takeaway or something!"

"Even if I do, the shopping will still have to be done sooner or later. No time like the present so why don't you get up off your ass and be productive for once?" you glared at him as he began walking to the door, "I'm heading off to work now so I'll see you later when I get back."

You sighed as you heard him descend the staircase and exit out of the door. You rolled onto your back feeling quite hungry.

Instead of going back to sleep, you got out of bed, exited out of your bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen. Once you got there, you rooted around in the cupboards for something to eat for breakfast. You eventually settled on toast as you pulled out the bread. You then put the two slices in the toaster as you got yourself a plate.

As the bread cooked, you began thinking. Your mind wandered to everything back home.

You wondered how your mom was doing. She was emotionally unstable, and she only had Ava and the rest of the household staff for company. Them and her sleazy therapist who you doubted truly cared about her or her condition. You decided you would text her later to see how she was doing since like any good daughter you had been preoccupied with other things and had been forgetting to text her.

Following on from this, your mind then shifted to the past few days. You had only been in Gravity Falls for a week, and you already thought it was weird and were beginning to wonder what its deal was. Though, you weren't even sure if you wanted to find out the deal with it. Last time you began thinking like that, you began wishing you never got involved.

However, it wasn't just the town itself; it was also the people in it. And that went for pretty much everyone you had seen there; including Noah now. You felt a bit bad grouping him in with the rest of them since there was the chance that there was something seriously wrong with him.

You didn't want to jump to conclusions, but you knew Noah had never been the most emotionally stable of people. He seemed much happier as soon as Amelia came into his life, almost as if she was the center of his universe. However, now she was gone, you wondered if Noah had fallen into a severe depression and maybe the way he was acting last night was a weird effect of it or even a coping mechanism. You were no psychologist so you would have to research it to have any _real_ ideas.

You jumped as the toast sprung up out of the toaster and you held your chest after the mini-heart attack. You then placed the two slices on the cerulean plate and grabbed the butter and a knife before you began to spread the butter over the toast.

After a few minutes of spreading the butter, you quickly grabbed a glass and walked over to the fridge. As you grabbed the carton of cranberry juice from last night, you saw how much food you had left. Noah didn't buy much from the store on Tuesday, and you had just about gotten through everything that he bought. You briefly remembered him stating at the till that he would only be buying a small amount of food to last you until he got his check at the end of the week.

You didn't see much point in buying the shopping before Noah cashed out his check. Why should you go shopping today when he could go tomorrow after taking a trip to the bank? Though, there again...the amount of food was in the fridge was less than what Noah had on Tuesday when you pointed out how bare his fridge was. You poured the rest of the carton into the glass before tossing the empty box into the trashcan.

You then picked up the glass and the plate before wandering into the living room before setting your breakfast down on the coffee table. You grabbed 'Halloween' out of the shopping bag and put it into the DVD player before flinging yourself onto the couch.

After a few minutes, you were happily eating your toast as the opening credits began to play.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

After a while, the film ended, and you decided to watch the first Saw film. During that intermission between the two films, you grabbed a Pitt Cola and made yourself a sandwich for lunch.

However, once you were half an hour into the film you heard running footsteps approach the front door.

You looked to your left as you heard the front door suddenly open and suddenly get slammed shut. You stared at the doorway that led to the hallway as you watch Noah dash past and run up the staircase.

All the while he was coughing and wheezing as he quickly entered the cabin. You paused the film and walked out of the living room to hear rummaging and coughing up from inside Noah's bedroom.

"Noah, you okay?" you called as you began to ascend the staircase. You heard harsh coughing and wheezing as the rummaging continued.

"Fuck!" you heard him yell, followed by the sound of something being kicked.

As soon as you reached the second floor, Noah then started heavily breathing in-between coughs as his lungs began to make a faint whistling sound. He was gripping the wooden desk so had that his knuckled had turned white. You suddenly became really concerned as you stepped into his bedroom.

"Noah, what's going on?"

"(Name) hav—" he didn't finish his sentence as he began to harshly cough as he collapsed to the floor, on his hands and knees. You rushed over to him as he wheezed and coughed.

"Noah, what's wrong with you?" you asked with a dour expression as the older male continued to cough and wheeze before he began a fit of heavy breathing.

"...Asthma!" he let out quickly before he went back to coughing.

"Oh, crap! Um, do you have any inhalers around here!"

"No, they all expired!" he let out as he heavily breathed.

"Shit, okay, I'll call for an ambulance then."

"...N-No—"

"Noah, you'll die!"

He didn't respond, and instead just coughed as he collapsed to the ground, now lying on his stomach before rolling onto his back. You, however, dashed downstairs to grab a phone, immediately dialing '911'.

"911, what's your emergency?" a masculine voice asked after a few seconds of ringing.

"Hi, I have someone here who is suffering from an asthma attack, and apparently all of his inhalers have expired, can you send an ambulance over?"

"Sure can miss, what's your address?"

"Uhh..." you glanced at the yellow sticky notepad next to the phone. It had a range of phone numbers from 'Dan landline' to 'Wendy's cell' along with the full house address at the top. "...It's 616, Caesar Road, Gravity Falls, Oregon."

"Okay thank you miss, we'll dispatch an ambulance as fast as possible. May I have your name and age please?"

"(Name) (Surname), and I'm seventeen," you replied as you jogged back up to Noah's bedroom to see Noah's wheezing and coughing get worse.

"Okay (Name), can you stay on the line for me until the paramedics get there?"

"Yes."

"Okay, who is the one suffering from the attack?"

"My cousin, he's on the floor, and he keeps coughing and wheezing."

"...(Name), I-I can't breathe..."

"He has shortness of breath, what should I do!" you began to panic and tremble, feeling quite useless in the current situation.

"Okay (Name), you mentioned that his inhalers have expired, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay, in that case, I need you to get him to sit down in a comfortable position, can you do that for me?"

"Yes..." you said, as you grabbed Noah's arm and tugged him to pull him up to sit down on the bed.

"Okay, this is only a temporary solution until the ambulance gets there," the man on the phone replied as you crouched down next to your cousin. "Now, I also need you to keep him calm and make sure he keeps a straight spine."

"O-Okay..." you stuttered as you pushed Noah 's chest backward to stop him from slouching. The brunette's wheezing continued as you checked to see if Noah was calm. He didn't seem to be panicking, but you definitely were.

The man on the line must have noticed your breathing get heavier out of panic, "Also, I need you to remain calm okay? Your cousin is going to be okay. The paramedics are almost there. Can you stay calm for me, (Name)?"

"Y-Yeah..." you replied as you sat down next to Noah on the bed to stop yourself from collapsing due to your now trembling legs.

"Good. I also need you to get him to take long deep breaths. Make sure he's breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth."

"N-Noah, I need you to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, okay?" your cousin didn't verbally respond and only nodded his head as he began to make an attempt to calm his breathing.

"I've got him to do it..." you replied as you held the phone to your ear with your right hand and rubbed your cousin's back with your left. Noah's breathing steadied a little, but it wasn't doing wonders. Noah suddenly began coughing and again and you continued to rub his back in a comforting manner, feeling quite helpless in the current situation.

"The ambulance will be there in about one minute, how is he holding up?"

"His breathing has improved a bit, but he's still coughing..."

"Okay, just let me know if he begins to lose consciousness, okay (Name)?"

"Yeah..." you replied softly, keeping an eye on your cousin as he attempted to steady his breathing once more. His face was red as a tomato, and his eyes had become extremely watery.

You began to hear a siren in the distance gradually getting closer. You bit your lip as you noticed Noah's eyes getting heavier.

"Noah I need you to stay awake, the ambulance will be here in a few seconds, and I need to get the door. Can you manage on our own for a minute?" you asked softly as you retracted your hand from your cousin's back.

Noah's heavy breathing continued, but he nodded nonetheless. You got up as you heard the loud siren outside the cabin. You took one last glance at Noah, to see him blankly staring at his reflection in the mirror as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"I think the paramedics are here now," you said as you rushed down the stairs.

"Okay then, are you sure you're alright now?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Goodbye, miss."

"Bye," you pressed the end call button as you ran to the door, opening it after hearing a loud knock. Immediately the paramedics came rushing in with their equipment.

"Where is the person having the attack?" a woman in her mid-30s asked, obviously not beating around the bush.

"He's in his room upstairs," you replied pointing to the steps. The woman nodded before rushing up the steps with two young men following behind her.

You followed the trio upstairs and nervously waited in the doorway as the two men tended to Noah and the woman made attempts to speak to him. However, you only felt pure perturbation as you watched Noah lose consciousness.

"Has he suffered from asthma before?" one of the men asked as he removed a green oxygen tank from its casing.

"I think so. He had inhalers, but they're all expired."

"I see, well we're just going to give him some oxygen to steady his breathing and stabilize him before we get him onto the stretcher bed."

"Okay..."

"If it would be no trouble, can you give us some information about the man?" the man asked.

"Yes, his name is Noah (Surname). He's twenty-four years old. His birthday is April 17th."

"And what is your relation to him?"

"I'm his cousin."

"Okay, and do you know if either of his parents or other family members are nearby?"

"Both of his parents are currently in Chicago, and both of my parents are on the other side of the country."

"I see...well, you are welcome to join him in the back of the van if you so wish?"

"Thank you, but I think I'll hang back here for a bit and catch up later."

Truth be told, you wanted to go with Noah, but you decided it may be better if you gather some of his clothes and other essentials just in case they decide to keep him overnight.

"Well, we're headed to Gravity Falls Hospital for when you want to come and visit later," the man smiled before turning his attention back to Noah and the other two paramedics.

The paramedics then placed a respirator over Noah's mouth, and nose as the transparent mask was connected to a small oxygen tank. You watched the scene as you nervously bit your nail.

Eventually, they lifted Noah onto the stretcher bed and began to carry him out of the house. Within a few minutes, Noah had been loaded into the back of the ambulance while you anxiously leaned against the doorframe and watched your cousin get taken to the hospital.

The van soon left, and you headed upstairs to gather some clothes, pajamas and other necessities for Noah.

You walked into Noah's bedroom and grabbed one of his duffle bags from the closet and began to fill it with shirts and pants. You felt awkward when it came to going through Noah's underwear drawer and picking out pairs of boxers for him, but you got over it and moved on to grab his pajamas.

After you gathered all the essentials from Noah's room, you went into Noah's bathroom to grab shampoo, conditioner, soap, Noah's toothbrush, and toothpaste. As soon as you gathered all of that and stuffed it into the bag, you headed back through the bedroom but stopped before you could walk through the door.

You looked at the oil pastel painting on Noah's desk. It was more developed compared to the last time you saw it. The page was now halfway done with the mix of greys, whites, and blanks making up the detailed imagery of the exotic plants. However, you didn't have time to admire the drawing properly, so you grabbed some stuff from Noah's desk and exited the room so you could make your way to your room to grab your purse and keys.

As soon as you collected your stuff, you checked Colin's plant pot as he sat on the windowsill. You stared down at him for a few seconds before grabbing him and neatly placing him in the corner of the bag before exiting your room and heading downstairs.

You grabbed Noah's spare keys to the truck and exited the cabin, locking the door after you. You jogged over to Noah's truck, tossing the duffle bag and your purse onto the passenger seat and reluctantly getting into the vehicle after checking for dirt on the driver's seat. You still hated this bloody truck...

You slipped the keys into the ignition and started the engine. You then made a U-turn and drove away from Noah's cabin and onto the dirt road that ventured through the forest.

A sigh escaped your lips as you drove down the dirt path heading towards town. You glanced around you and admired the scenery. You could certainly see why people would make up myths and legends surrounding this forest. It was quite eerie and mysterious. It looked like something straight out of a storybook...

You suddenly slammed on the breaks as you noticed a giant log in the middle of the road. You quickly opened the window to your left and poked your head out to view the long tree trunk blocking your path.

You looked closely at the long log before your eyes widened in disbelief.

You blinked a couple of times, hoping that your eyes were deceiving you. The trunk had...legs?

The log looked like a giant millipede with roughly fifteen pairs of little legs under the base of the trunk. It seemed as if it was being carried by many little people with blue pants and little brown shoes. You watched closely and noticed that the log was indeed moving, along with the legs, carrying it across the dirt road.

"Stop guys! There's a..." your eyes widened as you glanced to your left with an alarmed expression. You swear you saw something dive behind the bushes as soon as you looked over at the side of the road. You then turned your attention to the log that was halfway across the road. It had stopped moving and was now just lying there.

Your startled expression remained on your face as you unbuckled out of your seat and opened the car door, getting out to move the log. You walked over to the piece of wood and picked it up, observing it for a few seconds, checking for any little legs; but alas you found none. You then glanced over at the area where you heard the masculine voice, but again, you saw nothing out of the ordinary.

With the trunk in hand, you dragged the log over to the left side of the road, moving the piece of wood out of the way and making room for you to drive past.

You then returned to the truck and stared ahead for a few moments with a blank expression, _'Am I going insane or what?'_

You then buckled in once more and carried on driving, attempting to forget what just happened by telling yourself that you made it up.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You eventually made it into town and parked on the side of the road. You had no idea where the hospital was so you knew you would either have to wander around and look for it or ask a local where it was.

You grabbed your purse and the bag and locked the truck after exiting it. You wandered down the street, observing each and every building on each side of the road.

You had no idea where the hospital was, but you doubted it would be a small building on the side of the road, so you made a right when walking down the sidewalk and carried on looking.

After ten minutes you were starting to get impatient, so you decided to ask someone for help.

"Um, excuse me, do you know where the hospital is?" you asked a lightly tanned woman with wavy light brown hair tied back into a messy ponytail with a lavender hair tie. The woman turned to you, and you got a full look at her appearance. She wore a lavender colored top with white polka dots, white shorts, blue sandals, diamond-shaped pink and purple earrings and a hot pink crossbody bag with a yellow zig-zag at the bottom.

"It's over by the mall. If you carry on down that street and make a right, you will see it," the woman pointed down the street behind you as a smile appeared on her large lips. You glanced behind and then turned back.

"Thank you," you politely smiled as you headed in the direction she pointed towards. She nodded in acknowledgment, and you were on your way.

Within ten minutes you had made it to the hospital. You noticed that they had a car park and mentally kicked yourself for not going back to get the truck before heading toward your destination.

You entered through the automatic doors and walked over to the desk, asking the receptionist where your cousin was. After confirming that you were a family member, she informed you that he was in Room 4 in Block C.

You followed the signs to Block C, and eventually, you made it to Room 4. The door was open, and you saw Noah talking to one of the nurses. He still had his oxygen mask on, but at least he was conscious now. You politely waited in the doorway as you waited for Noah and the nurse to stop talking.

After a few minutes, the nurse then ended her conversation with your cousin and exited the room, politely smiling at you on her way out.

"So, you came then," he said as you entered the room.

"Yeah, and I brought you some clothes in case they decide to keep you."

"Well, that nurse just informed me that they plan to keep me overnight since that attack I had was quite severe. They want to keep me until tomorrow so they can monitor my condition and fully stabilize me with the right medication. So it looks like I'll need it. Thanks by the way," he sent you a half smile as he glanced at the bag around your shoulder.

"It's fine, but since when did you have asthma?" you asked, cutting to the chase.

"Since roughly two years ago. Though back then I developed moderate asthma to various chemical irritants."

"So what's the case now?"

"Not too sure exactly, but I told them that I think it may have been triggered by the sawdust at work."

You sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed, "So what's the deal with the expired inhalers?"

"I think it may be better if I just tell you the whole story, save you asking questions," he sighed.

"Okay then," you responded as you folded your arms and leaned back in the chair, getting ready for the upcoming story, "shoot."

"Well, it mostly started when I got a new job back in Chicago. I had just got out of university with a Masters degree, and I wanted a temporary job where I could be a car mechanic until I decided to move out of my parents' apartment and go live in Canada. Eventually, I got one not too far from where I lived, and I was working in a car garage, fixing people's cars. The first two weeks were fine, but soon I had to be sent to the hospital due to the chemicals causing an attack. The pollution in the air didn't help either. They finally prescribed me an inhaler that helped me deal with the attacks. So, eventually, I had to quit my job, and I was forced to freeload off my parents for a while until I found a new job that wouldn't be so hazardous to my health. And of course, you know what my parents are like so, of course, they weren't too happy about my temporary unemployment.

"However, I never got to the point of finding a new job because I got into that row that you probably already heard about. Then, Amelia and I decided to move out and go live together since she was having trouble paying her rent at the time. Then while we were looking for places to live, one of Amelia's friends recommended this place to us. We finally moved here, Dan offered me employment so I could pay the bills, and I eventually stopped bringing my inhaler around with me since I hadn't had an attack in ages, so I thought it went away. Apparently not..." he sighed as he ran his hand through his brown hair.

You silently stared at your cousin for a few moments before eventually speaking, "You're an idiot."

"Huh?"

"You're an idiot for not carrying your inhalers around with you and letting them expire. You're also an idiot for believing so soon that your asthma has gone away."

"It was two years ago (Name)..."

"Two years isn't as long as it sounds. Yes, I would maybe understand if it was say five or something; but it wasn't. And why the hell did you not go see the doctor about it first? Are you actually insane?" Noah didn't reply and let you just glare at him. You eventually sighed and picked up the bag you brought with you. "Well, anyway, I brought you a bag of stuff. I unfortunately only brought clothes for one day. If you need me to bring any more, I will. I also brought you some pencils and your sketchbook along with some books since they were lying on your desk in your room. I thought I would just bring them so you would have some form of entertainment," you informed him as you showed him the contents of the bag.

Your cousin nodded, "Thank you..."

"And I also brought Colin along too! He can keep you company while I'm not here!" you grinned and held up the cactus.

"Oh, super..." Noah replied as he stared at your cactus with a deadpan expression. You giggled, knowing that Noah would eventually fall in love with him over time.

"Make sure to keep him in the sun and make sure to water him regularly! Oh, and I also brought your phone, so you can text me if you need something," you replied as you handed him the bag. He took a glance inside before nodding his head and placing it next to him.

"Anyway (Name), I need to ask you something. Well, it's more of a favor really."

"What is it?"

"Remember yesterday when I mentioned that I needed to go somewhere tomorrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there is a festival going on this weekend outside of Gravity Falls. I needed to go there to get something. But now, it seems that I can't. Would it be possible for you to go there and get it instead?"

"Do I have to?" you groaned. You really couldn't be bothered...

"It's important! You don't even have to stay there long, just get there as soon as the festival opens and go straight to the place where they're selling the confiscated items and buy the book with the golden handprint and the number three on it. Just buy it with the credit card in the sewing box, but you may have to make a quick pit stop at an ATM because I doubt they'll take card."

"And what if I can't get it?" you huffed a you crossed your arms.

"You _need_ to get it! Don't you dare let anyone else take it! I need you to get it otherwise I will be _really_ pissed off with you, _understand_?"

You recoiled back at Noah's sudden outburst as a cool shiver traveled down your spine. You certainly weren't expecting that. What had gotten into him?

The look in his eyes was sharp and searing. His gaze pierced right through you and made you feel uneasy. However, you detected the trace of some other more subtle emotions hidden away in his dark hazel eyes.

You looked at your cousin with a look of apprehension and unconsciously taking a step back out of intimidation muttering, "Fine..."

"Thank you. The details for it are here," he said as he dug around in his pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper with an address and time on it. "I need you to head out early and get there in time for the minute it opens. It's imperative I get this book so get there early, so someone else doesn't buy it before you. You _can't_ let someone else buy it..."

"What's so special about this book anyway?" you asked as you observed the piece of paper.

* * *

_Crater Lake National Park  
_

_Oregon_

_USA_

_\- Set off at 7 am._

_\- Get cash._

_\- Get to park for 9 am._

_\- Go to the white tent._

_\- Buy the book with golden handprint (Item #618)._

* * *

"It doesn't matter, just get there early and get the book, okay?"

"Fine," you replied with a roll of your eyes as you stuffed the piece of paper into your pocket.

You chatted to Noah for ten more minutes, until one of the male nurses came in and told him it was time to take his oxygen mask off.

You took this as a good time to leave and eventually left the building, leaving the bag with Noah and heading outside. It took a while to get back to the truck, but you finally found it standing there on the side of the road, right where you left it.

You then started the ignition and began your way back to the cabin.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You groaned as you dumped your purse onto the coffee table as you flopped down on the couch. It was only 2:16 and you were already exhausted.

You kicked off your shoes and pulled out your phone, deciding to text your mom and tell her the news.

* * *

**14:16 PM**

**Mom**

_Hey xx_

_Hi, darling, how are you?_

_I'm fine but Noah's in hospital_

_What?!_

_He came home from work early and had an asthma attack_

_Well send him my love_

_How is he doing now?_

_He's okay now, the doctors are taking care of him, but the attack was quite severe_

_Well I hope he's doing alright, tell him to give me a call when he can xx_

_Also, I got an email from school, you have been set holiday homework_

_You're kidding..._

_Sorry darling, but it has to be done. The email said that you have been sent the homework task and resources on your school email. Apparently, you have homework from three different subjects_

_Great._

_Okay, I have to go in and see my therapist now, I'll chat to you later, okay? Xx_

_Yeah, bye xxx_

_Bye darling, tell Noah I hope he gets out of hospital soon xx_

_Okay, bye xx_

* * *

You put your phone down and positioned the pillow behind your head. You were tired, and you had nothing to do for the rest of the day, so you decided to take a nap to regain some energy and pass the time.

You squirmed around and got comfortable on the couch before you rolled over onto your side and shut your eyes. Within a few minutes, you had fallen asleep.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Your eyes snapped open at the sound of a knock at the front door. You sighed and groggily got up and rubbed the rheum out of your eyes.

Who would be knocking at the door? Did Noah get out of the hospital early and walk back? Or was it the mailman with a bloody parcel?

You tiredly staggered towards the door and twisted the knob.

You blinked.

It was the redhead you saw in the forest the other day. Up close she looked to be about a year younger than you, despite being a few inches taller than you. The green flannel shirt you saw her wearing the other day was tied around her waist, and she wore a red tank top, jeans, dirty boots, and the same blue and white cap with the tree on the front.

You watched her worried expression quickly change to a mixture of shock and confusion. While on the other hand, yours went from grumpy and tired to confused.

"Ah...is Noah here? I didn't get the wrong house did I?" the latter question was more directed to herself as she took a glance around her. You just blinked, taking a second to process the information due to your tired state.

"Uh, he's not here right now. He's in hospital," you replied.

"Oh, dude, what happened to him?" she asked, her face returning back to worried again.

"Uh, he had an asthma attack earlier," you replied, taking a second to scan her from head to toe before continuing. "Um, who are you?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry. Wendy Corduroy, dude," she wore a lopsided smile as she held out her hand for you to shake.

You vaguely remembered Noah mentioning a 'Wendy,' and you recognized the surname from when Noah mentioned that he worked for the 'Corduroys.' Wasn't this girl somebody's daughter? You had a hard time remembering...

You glanced down at the thin fingers and slightly muddy palm with a mild look of disgust that quickly passed over your face for a split second. However, you reluctantly took her hand anyway, deciding to be polite. You could wash your hand later.

You and Wendy shook hands before she placed the hand you shook on her hip, "So who are you?" she asked with a friendly smile, apparently not seeming affected by the slightly awkward handshake. That or she was choosing to ignore it...

"(Name) (Surname), Noah's my cousin."

"Yeah dude, I think I remember you!" you blinked and watched her face light up. "You were in the forest the other day! I was wondering why you were heading towards Noah's house. Now I guess I know why," she chuckled.

"Yup...do you wanna' come in?" you sighed, motioning inside. You hoped she would come in. You were cold. And standing at the front door wasn't helping. You were letting all of the warm air out...

"Thanks," she smiled as she stepped inside before you quickly closed the door and rubbed your arms to warm them.

"Wow, it's boiling n here..." she commented. You were shocked. Was she insane? It was like twenty-eight degrees! Well, maybe not exactly that...but it felt like it!

"Do you want a drink?" you asked as you led her into the living room, after grabbing one of Noah's hoddies off one of the pegs and slipping it on. It would hopefully keep you warm for a while.

"Nah dude, I'm fine. Unless you have Pitt Cola," she cheekily smirked as she sat down.

"I'll get some of that then," you politely smiled as you went into the kitchen to fetch two cans of Pitt Cola. However, as soon as you opened the fridge, you remembered how you were low on food. You grabbed the last two Pitt Colas you had and closed the fridge, walking back to the living room.

"So how do you know Noah then?" you asked as you sat on the sofa diagonally across from her after handing her the can.

She opened the can and took a sip, "He works for my dad. He usually helps him chop wood and stuff. You should see the two of them; they act like father and son," she laughed. "So what's this whole asthma thing?" she asked with concern as she casually slouched on the couch while you sat upright with your left leg crossed over the other.

"I chatted to him in the hospital earlier. Apparently, he had asthma back when he was living in Chicago. However, it was caused by irritable chemicals back then. It seems it's developed and he believes it's been caused by sawdust," you replied after taking a sip of your drink. "Know anything about that?"

"Well, usually Noah does a range of different tasks for my dad. One of them is chopping wood, but usually, he uses an ax, like my dad. They both think it's the more 'manly' way to chop wood," Wendy rolled her eyes before continuing, "but recently he's been having bad body pains, mainly around his back and shoulders, so he's been using a chainsaw for now. I told him he should just take a break from work and rest, but he would not hear of it..."

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. Typical Noah...

"And so the chainsaw produces more sawdust compared to the ax?"

"Yeah, he's been using the chainsaw for about three days now. I noticed he's been coughing a bit recently, but I assumed he just had a cold or something."

"So what happened earlier today?" you asked.

"Well I wasn't around for the full morning, but around noon I saw him coughing really badly. I went over to ask if he was alright but he just told me to tell my dad that he would be back in half an hour or so and took off home. Then when he didn't come back, my dad sent me here to see if he was alright..."

"I see, well, I don't imagine he'll back to work for a few days. The doctors plan to keep him overnight and hopefully discharge him tomorrow. Depending on how he's feeling, if things still seem iffy, I'll force him to stay home."

"Well, tomorrow's Saturday and Noah doesn't work on the weekends, so he'll have Sunday to relax. But if he's still not feeling well on Monday then feel free to keep him home. My dad would much rather have Noah working when he's back to his full health rather than straining himself which I know he will do without someone to tell him otherwise."

"Well thanks for looking out for him I suppose..." you replied while running your thumb around the thin metal rim of the can.

"Hey, no problem, dude. He's basically another member of the family at this point so we can't help but care for him," she smiled. You softly smiled and stared at your blurry reflection on the metal of the can before looking up.

"So I'm guessing from your reaction earlier Noah hasn't really mentioned me?"

"Can't say that he has. But I know Noah is the keeps-to-himself type so I wouldn't really take it personally. But I guess you already know that being his cousin an' all."

"Yeah, I do. Despite the last time I properly saw him was when I was ten visiting his apartment at Christmas, I do know these things about him. He hasn't really changed much since then it seems. But I wouldn't know him too well since he kind of cut contact with everyone in the family excluding my mom..." you sighed.

"Well, at least you get to see him now. How long are you staying here?" Wendy asked after taking a gulp of her drink.

"For the summer—well...up until further notice..." you replied before taking a sip from the can.

"Aw, sweet dude! You can hang out with me!" she grinned at you. You felt a bit shocked by her friendly and outgoing personality. You were so used to hanging out with more reserved and withdrawn people so meeting someone so folksy and gregarious was almost alien to you. You almost didn't know how to act around her...

"Uh...sure...if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah, dude! You can hang out with me and meet my friends. Though I do have to warn ya' they can get a bit rowdy," she chuckled.

"I doubt it will be a bother," you half-smiled.

"Great! So tell me a bit about yourself," she smiled as she finished her drink and placing the empty can on the coffee table before leaning back on the sofa.

You thought for a moment, contemplating what to tell her before deciding to just start with where you lived, "Well, I came here from Flordia on Tuesday, and I'm seventeen-years-old going on eighteen."

"Wow, you came all the way from Florida? That's quite a journey. But come on dude, I wanna' hear more about you as a person! Not just your age and where you came from!" she grinned.

"Well, I enjoy shopping, reading, watching films, photography, uh, secretly astronomy, writing literature and a bit of art I guess..."

"Sounds like you're pretty creative dude, what do you like to read and watch?"

"Uh, well I read pretty much anything interesting but mainly novels, comics, and magazines. As for films, I like pretty much any genre as long as it's good, but I particularly like horror, comedy, crime and mystery, sci-fi, y'know that type of stuff."

"Dude, you sound like you would get along with one of my friends! Unfortunately, he's not here right now, but I imagine he'll be back here soon. You interested in mysteries and conspiracies and stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess so," you gave a very indifferent response to a topic that was quite a guilty pleasure for you. You were secretly a bit of a nerd, but due to your lifestyle and friends, you had to keep up an appearance and stick to the status quo. You didn't like it, but you didn't want to mar your reputation. And besides, acting like a basic rich girl wasn't _too_ awful, since you did genuinely like shopping with your dad's credit card. Although that could get very boring and sometimes even frustrating. It was quite unusual for something new and exciting to happen in your life. It was always the same narrow people. The same boring conversation topics on permanent repeat, like who slept with who, who talked shit about who, who bought what at the weekend, who felt like their life was crap and not worth living anymore due to their month-long relationship ending just last week. It just went on and on and on. You wondered how on earth you had not begun to crack yet. How you had not already snapped and told everyone around you to shut their mouths and get over themselves? "So what are you interested in?"

"Ah, nothing too astounding. Just hanging out, reading magazines, that sort of stuff," she chuckled. "So...you're just going to stay here until he comes back?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm probably going to struggle with food tonight, but I think I'll manage..."

"Oh, dude...you running low on snacks or somethin'?"

"Yeah, I plan to go shopping tomorrow..."

"Well, surely you must have something around here that you can eat. Noah's always going on about how he keeps backup food in case he's running low..."

"I've only been here for a few days, and I'm still not too familiar with where he keeps everything. I'm not sure if he has any soup tins or anything like that. Ugh, am I going to have to have one of those cheap ready meals?" you asked more to yourself with a look of revulsion.

"Ready meals? Just make yourself something dude," she shrugged while awkwardly shuffled in your seat. "Come on, let's go see if he's got anything," she smiled, ignoring your lack of response as she got up and began heading towards the kitchen. You quickly got up as well and followed her out of the room.

"Now, where did he say he kept the food in case of a fallout..." she muttered as she scanned the cabinets.

"You've been here before?"

"Yeah, once. Him and his girlfriend invited my family and me over for dinner in November," she replied as she opened each cabinet. "Ah! Here it is!" the red-head smiled as she gazed up at the jars of beans, rice, nuts, pasta, and dried fruits.

"What do you like out of this?"

"Like rice, like dried fruit, like pasta, like some nuts, hate beans."

"I see, well, do you have any pasta sauce?"

"No, finished the pot on Tuesday."

"How about rice instead?"

"I guess?"

"You can pair it up with some nuts and dried fruits. Seems Noah has raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried raspberries, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts..."

"Well, you see..." you started as you bit your lip. Should you tell her?

"What?" the freckled girl asked, turning to you.

"...I can't actually cook...per say..." you sweat dropped as you looked away, embarrassed.

There was silence for a few moments as you looked back at her. She silently stared at you with a nonplus expression. Great, now she was aware of your profound ineptitude...

"You can't cook?" she asked with a blink.

"Nope..." you muttered as you looked away again.

"Like...at all?"

"The best I can make hot drinks and popcorn..." you sighed.

"Well, do you want me to teach you how to make Basmati rice with dried fruit?" she asked with a grin. You blinked at her. No laughs? No, 'wow...you're stupid' looks?

_'Huh...damn...'_

"I can't live off Basmati rice and dried fruit forever you know?" you sighed.

"Yeah, but it's a start. I can teach you how to make other stuff as well if you want?"

It was strange having someone so willing to be friends with you. People only wanted to be your friend after they discovered your dad was loaded. More often than not the people you hung around with had ulterior motives. They would befriend you so they could boast to others and get expensive birthday presents off you. These friendships never lasted very long. They either ended by you pushing them away or them eventually deciding that you weren't tolerable enough to hang around with. After you finally decided to wake up and smell the coffee, you chose to base your friendships on people's wealth rather than their personality. That way, they were less likely to exploit you since they had enough money of their own and didn't need to mooch off you. However, the drawback of this was that people like this were usually quite snooty and condescending or very self-absorbed—sometimes both. The only exception to this was Alec; however, that is a story for another day...

Yet, Wendy couldn't be aware of your income. She had never met you before, and it was made quite clear that Noah hadn't spoken a word about you so she couldn't have any underlying reasons for her cordial demeanor. Maybe it would be best if you didn't make it clear that you were the daughter of a millionaire just yet. Perhaps you could tell her later on after you get to know her a bit more? Well...provided your relationship with her lasts that long. You weren't going to lie; you weren't expecting this new possible friendship to be that successful. She was just some random girl who happened to knock on the door and happened to be acquainted with your cousin. You didn't care enough to try really hard and maintain a friendship with a girl who you would only know for the summer. Though, there was still the chance it could work out. Who knows?

"Sure."

"Sweet! My mom showed me how to make a few things when I was little, and I've managed to pick up a few things after reading all of those random recipes in the Wacky News magazines," she chuckled as she began to remove some of the jars from the shelf. You chuckled along with her, starting to feel less awkward around her compared to before.

Wendy then brought grabbed the last jar and set it on the table, "Well, that's all of 'em! Let's get started then, huh?" she flashed you a smile which you returned, more genuinely this time before walking over to the sink to wash your hands, ready to get started.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

After roughly an hour, you and Wendy had finished the dish. You had to admit; it didn't turn out too bad. Obviously, it wasn't anything Gordan Ramsay, but you were proud of the results.

"Good work, dude," Wendy smirked as she nudged your side. You chuckled a bit.

"You did most of the work."

"So? You helped as well. And I'm sure you could tell me how to make it if I asked you, right?"

"Oh, sure. It was actually easier than I thought it would be..."

"Well, like I said earlier, I'll be happy show you how to make more stuff like this."

"Well, I'm free tomorrow afternoon..."

"Sure dude! Though, I suggest maybe going grocery shopping first," she chuckled as you giggled.

"Yeah, I plan on doing that after I visit Noah in the hospital," you smiled as you fiddled with the hem of Noah's hoodie, hem suddenly getting an idea. "You can come with me if you want..."

Wendy looked surprised at your sudden offer, "You sure that's alright, dude? I don't—"

"I could tell from your body language earlier that you were a bit worried. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I brought you along since you know each other. Plus, you can help me grocery shop afterward," you grinned.

Wendy blinked, before a smile melted onto her face, "Okay then dude. It's settled. And I'm assuming you want to cook after that?" she smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're up to it," you replied, returning the look with one of your own.

"Sure dude," she smirked as she punched your arm playfully, earning a giggle from you.

"I'll pick you up from your house then. I'm sorry, but there is no way on earth that I'm walking back to the house with all of those bags..."

"Sounds good to me, dude. My house is just left from here, just follow the dirt path through the forest and you'll eventually end up there. You can't miss it."

"Okay, thanks! I'll probably come for around two. I have something I need to do that morning," you smiled.

"No sweat dude, show up whenever," she shrugged as you both walked to the front door, "well, I'd better head off back home now. My dad's probably wondering where I am."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for the cooking lesson."

"See ya' dude," she smirked as she opened the front door end left the house.

You softly sighed as you wandered back into the living room and sat on the couch. Alone again it seemed.

You glanced at the painting of Amelia above the fireplace. You hadn't forgotten that lucid dream you had the other night. The portrait reminded you of the image you saw of her, and by extension the others you saw as well.

Quite a lot had happened this week. You flew to Oregon and skipped a week of school; you met up with your cousin who you hadn't seen in years, you had that strange dream, and you swear you saw your cousin's eyes change color while he was acting odd. And just today, Noah then had his asthma attack and had to been taken to the hospital, you saw a log walk across the road, and you had made one potential friend. Now, you had to go get some book, and you would also be hanging out with said potential friend tomorrow. All in all, it had been an eventful past few days that would continue up to Sunday where the plans for that day were still left to the unknown.

You then checked your phone to see the time. It was currently '4:22' and you still had some time to kill before you would decide to eat your dinner that was cooling in the kitchen.

So with a small smirk, you headed upstairs to retrieve your laptop. Now you had wifi; you had Betflix. And that meant you were happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! For the next few chapters, I will be focusing on the relationship between (Name) and Wendy. A lot of stuff needs to happen before I Bill and (Name) officially meet. I not sure when that will be yet but just hang on while the moment draws near. Not long now, just a few more chapters before the moment we're all waiting for!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	8. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 6: Prometheus ▲

** **

**Arrival Arc: Prometheus **

* * *

You sighed as you typed away on your laptop. You were currently filling in your details for a ticket to the festival tomorrow. Luckily, you had decided to check the website for further information about the festival since you didn't really have much of a clue about where you were going and what you were doing. Turned out, you had to buy tickets online otherwise you would have to pay for one at the entrance for nearly twice the amount. So now, here you were filling in a form for an online ticket.

* * *

_First Name: (Name)_

_Last Name: (Surname)_

_Date of Birth (Please Select): (Month) (Day) 1996_

_Gender (Please select): Female_

_Address: 616 Caesar Road Gravity Falls Oregon USA_

_ZIP Code: 97303_

_Number of Adult Tickets (Please select): 1_

**_REMEMBER KIDS (12 and under), AND SENIORS (65 and above) GO FREE!_ **

_Card Number: 6011-6011-6011-6611_

_Security Code: 333_

_Expiry Date: 12/16_

**_ Submit _ **

_Your ticket reference is_ **_20-9-13-5 20-9-3-11-19 15-14 3-18-15-23-14_ ** _._

* * *

As you finally pressed the 'Submit' button, you leaned back on the sofa, letting the screen load and send you to the next page. After a few seconds, a large 'Thank you for purchasing' banner appeared on the screen with your ticket reference being displayed again along with some extra waffle that you just lightly skimmed through. You scribbled down your reference in case you needed it before closing the tab.

After closing your laptop, you picked up the piece of paper where the details were listed. You had made your small additions, but you had mainly been researching the event.

Your suspicions of it being the event Noah was looking at the other night were confirmed when you were brought to the page. You read up on it, and apparently, Oregon Parks Department did this annual festival and bake-off around the time of the anniversary of the opening of the park at Crater Lake National Park.

You had spent the rest of the night watching films on Betflix along with a few more episodes of The Crown. You had also eaten the meal you and Wendy made. It was quite delicious, and you were definitely proud of the work put into it despite it just being your Friday night dinner.

You rubbed your eyes as you got up from the sofa, placing your laptop to the side. You exited the living room to lock the door before ascending upstairs to your bedroom after switching off the downstairs lights.

You shivered as you realized how isolating the house was without Noah's presence. Fair enough, it wasn't very heavy, and unlike you, he was rarely the center of attention, but you still felt a bit uneasy from being alone in a cabin for the night.

After taking a shower, and finishing the rest of your nightly ritual, you got into bed. However, you had trouble getting comfortable due to the low temperature of the room and the strange eeriness of Noah's cabin.

 _'Huh...y'know, you would almost think that this house had a demonic entity lingering in the halls, feeding off people's negativity...'_ you thought as you stared into Noah's dark room through the small gap in your bedroom door. _'Wow (Name)...oddly specific...'_

You shifted your gaze away from the door and exhaled through your nose. You lay down in your bed, pulling the covers over your form after setting your alarm for six.

You shivered. The whole cabin was freezing, even colder than it usually was. So it was obvious that you wouldn't be falling asleep for a while. However, you closed your eyes anyway and attempted to fall asleep despite the cold sheets hugging your body.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You groaned as you heard the sound of your alarm go off. The nice thing was, there was no Noah pulling the sheets off you after marching right into your room at the crack of dawn. However, your alarm was set for six which was the time Noah got you up. So was there really that much of a difference?

You got out of bed with a grunt and lazily wandered over to one of your suitcases and grabbed some clothes before dumping them on your bed and beginning to get changed.

After you got changed, you wandered downstairs and quickly made yourself some cereal before quickly digging in. Before visiting the park's website, you looked up the address for where you had to go on Goodle Maps and discovered that it was roughly a two and a half hour drive to the festival.

_'I need to know whether Noah is getting discharged today. Better text him before I forget.'_

* * *

**6:23 AM**

**Noah**

_Hey, are you getting discharged today?_

* * *

A minute passed before Noah replied.

* * *

_Idk yet, it's all so hectic and unorganized around here. Apparently, I'm scheduled for some tests later this morning, so I imagine they'll do that and then decide_

_Will you know by this afternoon?_

_Maybe. I can ask?_

_Please do_ _._ _I'll need to know whether to bring you some more stuff or not_

_Ok, if in the event I'm not discharged could you bring the rest of the art stuff on my desk in my room along with a book named Qui Vivra Verra?_

_Sure, anything else?_

_Nope, that's it. G2g now I've been told I should rest before my tests_

_Ok, goodnight then x_

_Bye_

* * *

You quickly finished your cereal and rushed over to grab your crossbody bag before walking around to search for the piece of paper that Noah gave you along with your phone and the keys to Noah's truck.

As you rushed around grabbing various items and stuffing them into your bag, you noticed that the postman had posted a letter through the letterbox. You checked the letter seeing that it was addressed to Noah.

 _'Figures...'_ you thought as you rolled your eyes. _'Wait, would this possibly be the cheque Noah mentioned? Well, I guess it would be no use to me anyway, I wouldn't be able to cash it out...'_

You just rolled your eyes and placed the letter to the side as you picked up Noah's spare keys before quickly checking you had everything you needed to get going.

You quickly checked your watch to see that the time was '6:34' before heading out of the front door and locking it behind you.

 _'I guess I can quickly come back here after I get back before I head to Wendy's house. I'll also have to text Noah later to see if they're going to discharge him or if I'll have to bring more stuff with me,'_ you thought as you quickly went through your plans for the day.

You tossed your bag onto the passenger seat as you got into the driver's seat. You wasted no time shoving the keys into the ignition before the truck roared to life. You made a U-turn and quickly began driving through the forest toward town.

You silently drove through the forest, and within three minutes you had got to town. You turned into a gas station and waited in the queue of cars all lined up behind the vehicles occupying the gas pumps. You let out a sigh as you waited in line.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

As you exited the town and began to drive through the trees, you started to feel weird. As you kept your eyes on the road, you tried to pinpoint the strange feeling. You felt slightly nauseous and dizzy. You blinked and shook your head slightly, not wanting to lose focus on the road due to the troublesome sensation in your head. However, your vision slightly blurred for a second after doing that.

 _'Great, now what's wrong with me?'_ you thought as you let out a sigh. _'We already have Noah in the hospital (Name), we don't need you getting a fortuitous migraine, so you can crash this truck...'_

You carried on driving, and the nauseous feeling increased with the dizzy sensation developing into a small headache. However, this had little significance compared to the strange magnetic pull you felt. It pulled you backward, back towards Gravity Falls.

You then started wondering. Should you go back? Maybe it might be best if you just go back home? But for what reason? You had no idea. You needed to go to that festival. Where did this sudden doubt come from? Why did you have the impulse to turn back?

You ignored the thought and carried on driving despite the odd sensations. Soon enough, you noticed a sign on the side of the road.

_'Well, looks like I'm going the right way. I'd better go to Goodle Maps and turn on satnav mode since I was stupid enough to forget earlier,'_ you thought as you grabbed your phone. You noticed a main road in the distance as you quickly pulled onto the side of the road to switch on your phone and set up the GPS.

_"In 200 yards, turn right."_

It was over a two-hour drive to the festival. Luckily, your headache and nausea had completely gone along with the strange magnetic pull that you felt when crossing the border between Gravity Falls and...wherever you were now. However, you hated driving, especially when it was long distance. You had only just got your driving license last year, and although you passed your test, you couldn't say you were the most confident driver in the world; especially when it came to driving on the freeway. Boy were you in for a treat. It was going to be a _long_ drive. Both literally and figuratively...

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"Finally..." you muttered as you drove into the car park of Crater Lake National Park. You looked around to see that there weren't many vehicles there yet. You quickly checked your watch to see that it was '8:55'.

You parked your car and noticed that some people were already heading towards the entrance. You grabbed your bag and the keys and exited the vehicle before locking it.

You walked over to the entrance to see a woman selling and checking tickets. You waited in the small queue before it was your turn.

"Hello miss, welcome to Crater Lake National Park! I'm assuming you're here for the festival?"

"Yeah."

"Great! Do you want to buy a ticket now or have you already purchased one online?"

"I've already done it online."

"Okay, what's the surname?" she asked as she picked up an uPad from the desk.

"(Surname)," you replied as the woman nodded and typed in the name into a search bar.

"Is it (Name) (Surname)?" she asked looking down at the uPad.

"Yeah."

"Okay (Name)! Just get your hand stamped by Michael over there and have a great day!"

"Thanks," you politely smiled as you walked over to a middle-aged man who stamped the top of your hand before you continued on your way.

The festival itself was quite small. There were many stalls selling food, books, films, clothes and whatever else that was there. As if you would ever buy anything from a cheap stall, but it seemed nice for people who were into buying this kind of stuff.

You wandered through the park, walking past various tents and stalls advertising different items you liked to call 'junk.'

Soon enough, your eyes caught sight of a large banner hanging on a large white tent.

* * *

  
_Oregon Parks Department Confiscated Items For Sale!_

* * *

You quickly headed over to the tent to see a queue of five people.

 _'Looks like the place is starting to fill up now. I'd better get in the queue and pray the book is there,'_ you thought as you walked over to the queue and stood in line.

"Mommy I want that one!"

"Joe, no. I'm not getting that."

"But I want it!"

"No!"

You craned your head to look at a mother and son at the start of the queue. The young boy around the age of five was pointing to a brightly colored water gun while the mom looked quite angry.

"They've been at this for five minutes now..."

You blinked and looked at the person who spoke—the person being the young girl in front of you. She turned to you with a half-smile and a warm look in her eyes.

The girl was quite attractive with straight blonde hair that just reached her shoulders, blue eyes and freckles dusting her cheeks and nose. She wore a blue wrap top, white denim jeans, and white sneakers with a silver charm bracelet wrapped around her right wrist. The bracelet was quite pretty, and the silver-tone complimented her pale skin quite nicely. She was almost wearing the exact opposite of what you wore which was some denim jeans, black boots, and a red peplum top. The girl looked to be about two years older than you despite only being a few centimeters taller than you.

"Have they?" you asked after you took a split second to observe her from head to toe.

"Yeah, that mother has been trying to buy that stack of CDs, but her child keeps pestering her to buy the water gun. To be honest, I kind of feel bad for the guy at the table. He looks like he's about to lose hope in everything..." she chuckled as you glanced at the guy behind the desk. While the mom and child continued to argue, the guy at the table seemed to be having trouble keeping a smile plastered on his face. He really _did_ look like he was about to lose hope in everything...

"Maybe the mom should just buy it for him to shut him up. That's what my parents always did for me—" you quickly blinked as you suddenly cut yourself off. That just slipped out; you didn't mean to say that...

"Oh, I see...well, I guess that's one way to solve the problem," she shrugged with a smile.

"Come on, Joe..." the mom sighed as she dragged the yelling child away from the desk and towards the exit.

"Well, good thing that's over now..." she chuckled as you and her both moved forward in the queue.

You looked back down at the girl's charm bracelet.

"That's a nice bracelet," you complimented suddenly.

"Oh thank you! I've had it since I was thirteen, I've been collecting charms for it ever since."

"They're pretty; I especially like the heart one."

"That one was from my sister. She got it for me one Christmas; it's meant to represent a close family bond or something like that," she smiled as she gazed at the charms. "I really enjoy looking at them from time to time. Similarly, the lock and key one is meant to represent a secure friendship or relationship or something along those lines. I got that one from my friend Veronica," she smiled, feeling a wave of nostalgia.

The bracelet was full of many charms. One of them was of the Eiffel Tower, another was a white daisy, one was the Canadian flag, and another was of an angel. Interestingly enough, your eyes were mostly drawn to the one of a cactus. It seemed as if it was an odd choice for char; however, you didn't judge since you would have probably bought it too.

"You here with anyone?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head and a soft smile gracing her thin lips.

"Yeah I'm here with one of my friends, he's currently looking at one of the food stalls," you smiled. You didn't want to tell her that you were alone and look like a loser, coming to a festival (that was usually a family, or social event might I add) on your own. That and you didn't know who this girl was. She was the one who started talking to you, for all you knew she could be an ax murderer. Hey, you could never be too careful!

"Well, take it from me, the massive home-made donuts from the pastry stall are amazing! If he hasn't bought any yet, tell him to buy one!" she grinned.

"I'll be sure to tell him," you replied, sending her a smile of your own, a polite one of course. "What about you?"

"I'm here with my niece and sister and some friends. However, none of my friends have arrived yet, and my sister has taken my niece to where they give pony rides," she softly smiled.

You and the girl stepped forward in the queue as the person at the front left the table with an item in their hands.

"I'm Tia," she grinned, introducing herself.

"(Name)," you responded, introducing yourself as well. Since you were now fourth in line, you could now see the contents on the table. You quickly scanned the items on the desk, before noticing a few books lined up at the back. One of them was a children's book of The Ugly Duckling while the other was a 'World Domination for Dummies.' The last one, however, was a large and heavy looking burgundy book with a golden handprint with the number '3' on the front. It was wrapped in a clear plastic bag with a label on the front with 'Item #618' written in red felt tip. Your eyes widened as you caught sight of the book that you were told to get.

"You local?" she asked.

"Not really, I'm from Florida, but I'm visiting Oregon for the summer."

"That makes sense. I could tell you weren't from around here due to your southern accent."

"Yeah, that usually is a big giveaway," you replied with a shrug of your shoulders.

The queue moved forward, and now you were third in line. You glanced at the book, hoping to get this over with so you could go back to Gravity Falls and maybe grab a Starbooks on the way back.

"I know what you mean. Everyone seems to know that I'm from the northwest due my accent, and usually, they can tell that I'm from Oregon too. Though, there was this one dude who thought I was from Montana. Dunno what that was all about..." she frowned, feeling a wave of nostalgia from memory.

You chuckled, "He sounds like a dork..."

"Oh, he was," she replied with a giggle.

"Who's next?" the guy at the table asked, despite looking straight at Tia. The blonde girl then quickly turned away from you and walked over to the table while flashing the guy a warm smile. "What can I get ya' darlin'?"

"Hi, uh, can I have that book over there?"

You watched as Tia pointed to the three books lined up. Though due to the angle she was pointing at, it looked as if she was pointing to all three of them.

"This one?" the guy asked, pointing to the yellow 'For Dummies' book.

"N-No, the one next to it, the one in the packaging..."

"Oh, this one! Sorry darlin', you confused me for a second there," he chuckled as he picked up the book with the golden handprint on it. Your eyes widened as you watched the man hand over the book to Tia. "That will be $6.50!" the guy smiled as the blue-eyed girl handed over a ten dollar bill before the guy handed Tia her change.

You silently watched from behind as Tia took the change from the middle-aged man before heading over to the exit. You blinked as your eyes followed Tia's form. Well, there goes Noah's book...

"Who's next?" you heard the guy ask you. Without thinking twice, you left the queue and rushed out of the tent as you pulled out your phone.

 _'I'd better tell Noah someone else bought the book...'_ you thought as you pulled out your text conversation with Noah.

* * *

**9:13 AM**

**Noah**

_Hey Noah, got some bad news_

_What is it?_

_I got here early, but the girl in front of me bought the book before me_

_Ask her if you can have it or offer to buy it off her._

_That's really weird! I can't do that! And I don't even know where she's gone!_

_Find her and try your luck, kid. That book has high value so make sure to get it since those idiots at the park don't recognize what it's really worth._

* * *

"Hey, didn't you get anything?"

You looked to your right to see Tia standing a meter away from you with a confused expression. She had the book in one arm while the other hung loosely at her side.

"No, I heard they had something I wanted but turns out they didn't. That or someone else bought it..."

"Aw, that's bad luck," the blonde frowned.

"Yeah..." you replied as you pocketed your phone, "at least you got what you wanted though!" you smiled.

"Huh? Oh yeah! I'm glad I got this! I came here early to get it even though I kind of doubted that anyone else was going to buy it..." she chuckled.

_'Well, you thought wrong sister...'_

"Are you waiting for your brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, he just texted me to tell me that he's going to continue shopping before he goes back to the car," you replied smoothly.

"Guessing he's not too interested in the other activities then?" she giggled.

"No, he's not really the type," you casually shrugged. "You waiting on your friends?"

"Yeah I am waiting for them to show up but I'm mostly waiting for my sister and niece to meet me here."

"How old is your niece?" you asked with pretend interest.

"She's eight, but you should see how clever she is! She inspired me to start writing my first book! Not trying to brag, but it's a little hard not to when you're related to a kid that bright," she softly smiled.

_'Maybe if I get onto the subject of books I might be able to subtly ask her for that book without it looking too weird. Worth a shot...'_

"You've written a book?" you asked with a tilt of your head and a fake smile.

"Well, I'm kind of still in the process of writing it. It's taking longer than I thought it would, but hey, I'm in no rush," she grinned.

"Well, tell me about it," you smiled, taking a small step closer to her.

"Oh, I would love to. But I was actually planning on getting something to eat since I skipped breakfast this morning. Sorry about that. I would give you the blunt version but knowing me I'll waffle on for days," Tia rolled her eyes at her own incompetence with a lopsided smile.

"Ah I see..." you replied. You had to think; you had to bring the subject back to her book _now_.

"Though...how interested are you?" she cheekily smirked.

You were caught off guard, but you quickly regained your composure and managed to maintain your façade, "Quite! I love books a lot, so whenever someone mentions the word, I get all interested!"

"Well, I was actually planning on heading over to the café tent to get something to eat. You can come with me if you want," the girl suggested.

"Sure," you responded before following her to the café tent.

You watched Tia place the book in her bag as you both entered the tent. The place wasn't anything special—just a bunch of wooden picnic tables scattered about inside and outside the tent with a long counter in the corner of the room selling cakes, muffins, soup, sandwiches, tea, coffee, and other cheap food items.

"I can get you something if you'd like?" Tia asked.

"Oh no, I'm not that hungry."

"You sure? It's no problem, the stuff in here is like super cheap anyway."

_'Yeah I know, that's the point...'_

"No I'm fine, trust me," you smiled making it look as genuine as possible.

"Suit yourself then I guess," she shrugged.

Following the time Tia took to buy herself a coffee and a muffin, the both of you sat down at a table.

"Aw, a cactus! I love cacti!" Tia smiled as she gazed at the plant before her.

"So what's this book about?" you asked as you gently ran your fingers over the sharp bristles of the cactus that sat on your table. You carefully touched the smooth spikes, careful not to apply too much pressure and prick yourself.

Each table was decorated with either flowers or cacti. Fortunately for you, you and Tia happened to sit at one of the tables with a cactus.

_'If I get her to give me a summary of this book she's been writing, I can shift the subject back to the book she just bought. I'll just have to hope that I can talk her into giving it to me, or at least selling it. I guess I also have to be aware of the time. This little brunch won't last forever. I just hope she doesn't go on about her book too much...'_

"Well, like I said I haven't finished it yet so, I can't really tell you how it ends. But the story is mainly based on the idea my niece gave me and a few Greek mythologies I was reading about last year."

"Sounds interesting. So what's the plot?" you asked with a cheeky smirk and a tilt of your head.

"Well the book itself is called 'Child of Soleil.' Soleil is French for 'Sun.' My family is from Quebec, and their first language is French, so I thought Soleil sounds better than just 'Sun,'" she chuckled.

_'Oh get on with it already!'_

"Anyway! The story is about a young warrior who was chosen by the sun to carry out the sun's will and reign judgment down on humanity. The sun looked down on earth and saw that there was something wrong with the world. The sun believed that the earth wasn't functioning properly and was not achieving its full potential as a planet. The sun also believed that the universe surrounding him wasn't functioning properly either, so he designed a plan to fix what was wrong on earth before moving on to fix the universe and bring true balance into the world," she explained before making a brief pause.

"Sounds cool, carry on," you smiled.

"So after the plan was set into motion the sun chose a warrior at birth to be the main catalyst for change and help set the plan into action. Once the warrior came of age, the sun appeared as a young man to the warrior and spoke to him through a dream. The warrior accepted the task as the sun promised the warrior that if he succeeded, he would be crowned a king if he completes his mission. The sun informed the warrior that he would become the king of a land where the sun first rises. And so, the warrior sets out on a journey at the command of the sun. The voyage starts out alright, and the warrior makes a vast amount of progress throughout his adventure. He destroyed powerful relics, spoke of the almighty power of the Sun God and battled many creatures.

"However, the warrior met a group of people in a village. He fell in love with a young girl and created friendships with members of her family and her friends. The warrior took a break from his mission and relaxed while ignoring the sun's wishes to ignore the village and carry on his journey. This angered the sun but what followed angered him even more. The group convinced the warrior to deviate from the path set out for him. The warrior eventually gave up his mission and decided to settle down and marry the girl he fell in love with. Though this act of defiance angered the sun even more and the sun, therefore, punishes the warrior by casting him into the bowels of the earth to drink the burning liquid inside the earth for eternity."

You blinked, "That sounds pretty done to me..."

"I know. A lot of people have told me to leave the story there, but I don't feel like it's done yet. I like happy endings," she smiled, taking a bite from her muffin.

In truth, you weren't too sure where she was going with a story like that. It was a strange story, and you weren't too sure what to think of it.

"My niece gave me the idea of writing a book about a guy who goes on an adventure. And I got the rest of the ideas from Greek stories like Prometheus," she explained.

You recognized the story. Although you weren't an expert on Greek mythology, you did know a few stories from Karen. She secretly loved Greek mythology, and due to her interest in drama, she liked performing tales such as Perseus and Medusa, Scylla and Charybdis and Theseus and the Minotaur. Now as you thought back, you remembered that she once made you watch her drama performance of Prometheus, with her playing the role of Pandora. Although you didn't take a keen interest, you managed to stay awake and follow the story.

Prometheus—name meaning foresight—was the creator of humanity in Greek mythology who, by order of Zeus, got chained to a cliff and had his liver pecked by a vulture after he stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humanity. Every night his liver would grow back only to be attacked again in the morning.

"I see, so the idea of the sun and a warrior came from the relationship between Prometheus and Zeus," you concluded while Tia continued to eat her muffin.

"Yeah essentially. I really love the story of Prometheus; it's one of my favorites. Prometheus was an inquisitive, rebellious trickster but I also think he was a resilient hero with the ability to sympathize with humanity," she replied before finishing her muffin.

_'Although talking about Prometheus is nice, I really need to turn the conversation to the book!'_

"I have to say I agree with Percy Shelly with what he says about Prometheus. He stated that Prometheus was the highest perfection of moral and intellectual nature driven by the purest motives. At first, I wasn't sure those exact words could be said about him, but then I read about how he pitied humanity when they were susceptible to the elements and utterly reliant on the Gods. I guess I also relate to him as well since he's a very humane character. I like how he's a symbol of our capacity to capture the powers of nature and how he reminds us of the potential of individual acts that can change the whole world..." she stated before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Did you buy that book to help progress your story?" you asked.

"This? I guess so. One of my friends works here, and he said that it contained some really cool mythical creatures and ideas for a story, so I guess so? I'm still trying to think of some good original creatures that can act as foes for the protagonist. But I'll be honest; I mostly got this for my niece. It's her birthday in two days, and I still hadn't gotten her anything, so I was starting to panic. She's not exactly easy to buy for..." she chuckled.

_'Great, so she's going to give that bloody book to her niece. I guess I could try to ask her, but I highly doubt I'll be able to get it now...'_

"Your niece would be interested in that book?"

"Yeah, she's really into fantasy creatures and stuff. Y'know fairies, mermaids, unicorns, that sort of thing," she said before glancing to her left, "actually...I think that her there!"

You turned in the direction Tia was looking to see a brunette girl racing toward your table with a broad smile plastered over her cheeks.

"Auntie Tia! I just rode a pony through the woods!" the girl yelled as she hugged her aunt. The girl was roughly four-foot with blue eyes like Tia's but with brunette hair. She was wearing a pink top with a female cat doing ballet on the front with denim jeans and pink trainers.

"That's great Jess! How was it?"

"It was really really really fun!" she beamed.

"Hey," Tia waved as a woman in her late twenties approached the table.

"Hey, have the others arrived yet?" the woman asked Tia. The woman was tall with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a grey off-shoulder top with a black mini skirt and a black pair of block heel ankle boots.

"Not that I've seen. I guess they're stuck in traffic or Molly has made them late _again_."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Who's this?" the woman asked looking at you with a polite smile.

"This is (Name), I met her when I was in the confiscated items tent, I've just been telling her about my book," she said after taking a sip of her coffee.

"Hi," you smiled.

"(Name), this is my sister Skylar and her daughter Jessica," she introduced as she motioned to the brunette and the blonde. Skylar sent you a smile while Jessica gave a shy wave, quickly switching from her excited and outgoing persona from a minute ago. "So anyway, what do you think of the book?" she asked with a hopeful look in her eye.

_'And now we're back to her bloody book. I don't think I'm going to be able to buy it off her, especially with these two watching. In fact, if the book is meant to be a birthday present for her niece and her niece is standing right there...yeah, I don't think this is going to work out. Noah will just have to suck it up...'_

"I think it sounds terrific! I think you should finish it and send it to a publisher to see what they think. I think it has a lot of potential!"

_'What was her book about again?'_

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it!" Tia smiled as a small bashful blush appeared on her cheeks. The blonde then quickly finished her coffee before standing up and throwing the muffin case and the empty disposable cup away in the trash.

You then heard a 'bing' come from Skylar. She quickly pulled out her phone and smiled, "They're here; apparently they're in the car park."

"I bet they're waiting for me to go find them," Tia rolled her eyes, "it was nice meeting you (Name)."

"You too."

Tia then gave you a small wave before walking away. However, surprisingly enough, Skylar and Jessica didn't follow her.

"She has trouble on her own," Skylar said as you turned to her.

"In what way?" you asked with furrowed brows.

"She's been having a bit of trouble taking care of herself since she's had to take up a part-time job at the supermarket to make a living while she writes her book. Her boyfriend who she was living with ditched her for some latina girl, so she's had trouble taking care of everything herself since he used to chip in and help her."

"Isn't she getting any help?" you asked.

"Yeah, my husband and I are trying to support her the best we can, but I can tell she's embarrassed by it. I keep saying that she doesn't have to live on her own just yet since she's only nineteen but there again, our mom isn't that great to live with, so I guess I do see her reasons for wanting to live on her own. But I do think she should get a roommate or something..."

"What about your dad? Can't he help?"

"Oh, he passed away years ago..."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, although we both do miss him, we've gotten over it. He died from lung cancer, and for us, it was quite a sudden shock. But I guess it should have been expected; he was quite a heavy smoker..."

Your mind went to your dad. You honestly couldn't remember what he was like before he started his business. Following that came the divorce after he fell for a young woman at work and left your mom. However, his relationship with that woman didn't last very long, and now he was with another woman who you were yet to discover the identity of.

"Mommy I want to go on the bounce house!" Jessica beamed as she pointed to the brightly colored castle located a few yards away.

"Okay Jessica, but after we're going to meet up with your auntie Tia and her friends, okay?" the young girl sighed but nodded her head. "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah you too," you sent the blonde woman a smile which she returned before she headed over to the bounce house with her daughter.

"And then there was one..." you muttered to yourself and headed in the direction of the woods, in hopes to find a quiet spot to send a few texts before you would head back to Noah's truck and make your way back to Gravity Falls.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You sighed as you sat down on a rock. You had managed to find a nice scenic spot away from other people and the area where they were conducting the nature walks.

The rushing water was quite therapeutic to listen to when combined with the sound of the wind rushing through the tree leaves and the birds singing songs up above. You closed your eyes for a brief moment. You knew you would only have a few chances to relax in a temperate forest like this before you would have to go back to Orlando with all of the palm trees so might as well enjoy the moment while it lasts.

After a taking a few minutes to mentally reinvigorate yourself, you pulled out your uPhone and texted Noah.

* * *

**9:39 AM**

**Noah**

_Hey Noah, I talked to the girl, but getting her to give it over to me wasn't an option, you'll just have to deal with it_

* * *

You waited a few moments before Noah texted back.

* * *

_I need you to get it for me toots, it's important_

* * *

You glared at the screen. Great, now he was calling you that over text?

* * *

_The book is a B-day gift for her niece; I doubt she would just hand it over. Besides, asking her for her book is weird_

_Just steal it, doll._

_What?? No! I'm not stealing it!_

_Just do it, kid. We haven't got all day._

* * *

You huffed and rolled your eyes. Now any normal person would walk away from the idea immediately, but you had been accused of being a moderate sociopath by multiple individuals. You hadn't bothered to check if these accusations were true, so you had no idea if you were one or not. However, the thought of stealing the book still felt uncomfortable. Who's to say no one would see you? The place was packed. Who's to say she would still have it on her? She could have put it in her car or something. Who's to say you would even have the chance to get it? If it were still in that bag, then she would most likely keep the bag close by.

You sighed as you put your phone in your purse and got up from the rock. You made your way back over to the area with all of the stalls as you kept an eye out for Tia.

Ten minutes passed and still no luck. You had made three circuits of the area, and there was still no sign of her. Maybe she had left?

Just as you were about to give up and head back to the truck, you suddenly saw Skylar. You saw that she was sitting on a bench in front of the woods. The wooden bench she sat on was cluttered by a load of bags. The blonde woman was laughing as she watched the water zorbing in front of her. You observed the giant balls to see Tia in a ball along with a bunch of other girls.

Well, it looks like you found her.

You shifted your eyes back to Skylar and the bags she was surrounded by. She must have been given the task of looking after the bags while Tia and her friends go water zorbing.

You carefully scanned the bags as you tried to recall which one was Tia's. Your eyes eventually set on the blue shoulder bag. You were pretty sure that was Tia's bag, but your doubts were wiped away as you could just make out the burgundy book inside due to the bag being partially open. But the question was, how could you get to it?

In truth, you didn't really care too much whether you got it or not. It was a stupid book that Noah was after for some reason and therefore had nothing to do with you. You only cared about not getting noticed if you were going to steal the book just to keep Noah happy.

You watched Skylar call out to Jessica, telling her not to wander off as the brunette girl looked at the kids' clothes in one of the nearby tents. You knew you would have to be quick if you wanted to grab the book, but Skylar would have to walk away from the bench and be facing away from it to not notice anything. Not only that, you would have to make sure that the girls and Jessica would be looking elsewhere while you grabbed the book.

You glanced at the zorbing balls. They were translucent, but you could still just about see through them. You also took note that they wouldn't be in there forever and that you would only have a short limited time. If you failed once, then you would have to rush away from there and hope no one calls the cops about your shifty behavior.

"Mommy, I want this one!" Jessica yelled to Skylar as the young woman looked over at her daughter. Jessica was holding up a pink sparkly skirt with sequins decorated all over.

"Jessica, I've already bought you all of those DVDs and that paint set..."

"Please?" she whined as the eight-year-old gave the puppy dog eyes to her mom. "Please, please please, please, _please_?"

Skylar let out a sigh as she stood up, "Fine, but that's the last thing I'm buying for you today. Now you'll just have to wait until your birthday for anything else..."

Your eyes lit up as you watched the blonde woman walk over to her daughter and take the pink skirt from her before disappearing behind the racks of clothes inside the tent. You glanced over at Tia and her friends to see that they were pretty engrossed in their fun. You just hoped none of them wouldn't notice you.

You began to walk over to the bench, deciding to walk in the woodland area so if you carried on in a straight line, you would walk directly behind the bench. You briefly glanced around to see if anyone was paying particular interest to you. Luckily, no one's eyes were glued to you as of yet.

You calmly walked over to the bench, and after taking another brief look around, you quickly unzipped the blue bag. You quickly pulled the book out of the blue bag and casually zipped it up like you owned it. You tucked the book under your arm and checked around again as you slipped away.

It seemed as if that was all too easy. Skylar walked away at the perfect moment, and Tia and her friends were happily occupied with an activity which required them to leave their bags somewhere. However, you got your anxiety from it being a crowded place and the fact that any one of Tia's friends or Tia herself could have seen you.

As you got a safe enough distance away, you looked back at where you just were. You saw Tia and her friends get out of their balls, laughing happily. You watched as Tia laughed along with her four friends like she didn't have a care in the world.

You couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over you.

You could already read into what kind of person Tia was without properly knowing her. Although there was always the chance you could be wrong, you felt as if you already knew what kind of person she was. Tia was a hard-worker with a certain resilience that helps her face tough challenges. She was popular and a social butterfly, but she was also popular with the opposite sex due to her appearance and sweet personality. She was creative and a bit of a dreamer. However, on the other hand, she was a bit naïve and could be a bit annoying to some. She was also the type of person who many would think was perfect. Possibly even an angel to some; sweet and innocent.

That there was the complete opposite of you, you were anything but sweet and anything but innocent. And you weren't perfect to anyone but yourself.

You silently watched the blonde walk over to the bench while Skylar and Jessica walked over as well.

Even though she was struggling, she was able to smile like nothing was wrong. Why? Why would you be happy when you were struggling just to make a living? Why would you be happy even though your boyfriend just left you? Why would you be happy when your dad is dead, and you have a crap mom? You didn't understand.

Why did her happiness make you sad? Why at that moment did you wish you were her? She didn't have anything. She didn't have designer purses. She didn't have expensive jewelry. She didn't have expensive clothes. She didn't live in a fancy house. She didn't even have enough money to support herself on her own. So why were you jealous? What was there to be jealous of? Why envy _her_? You didn't understand.

Your breath caught in your throat as you watched the young girl walk over to her bag. She pulled out a water bottle, but her happy face quickly twisted into one of worry as she placed her bottle to the side and began to dig through her bag. You watched Tia turn to her sister and ask her something that was inaudible from where you were standing. Skylar shook her head as her face twisted into worry as she lifted the other bags to check under them. It was pretty obvious now that Tia had noticed that the book was gone. Tia's friends got worried after Tia spoke a few words to them; presumably informing them that the book is gone.

Your grip tightened on the book as a shiver traveled up your spine when you saw Tia talk to Jessica with a slightly melancholy expression. The eight-year-old stared up at the older girl with a confused expression which slowly became sad. You watched as Tia glanced at her friends and sister as they looked around for the book. One of Tia's friends exchanged a few words with Tia before jogging away. Maybe they went looking for it elsewhere?

You let out a sigh as you ran you hand through your hair.

It wasn't too late. You could still walk over there and return it to her. Or at least leave it somewhere where someone will notice it. It would be the right thing to do.

The right thing.

But what is right? How do you know? How _would_ you know?

You bit your lip and glanced down at the floor as you considered the idea. You looked back at Tia. She stood there looking worried as she took a sip from her bottle.

Though why should you give it back? You went through all of that to get it. You probably needed it more than she did. It was _her_ fault it's now gone since she bought something that you specifically needed. It was _her_ fault since she had someone else look after her bag and then let that person leave it unattended. It was _her_ fault since she basically waved it in your face when you chatted. It was _her_ fault since she was writing a book and lazily wanted to use it to get ideas for characters instead of coming up with them on her own. It was _her_ fault since she was so happy. It was _her_ fault since she was off water zorbing with her friends. It was _her_ fault since she was wearing a charm bracelet with charms that represented the strong family and friendship ties that she had with other people. It was all _her_ fault.

You turned away from the scene and began to walk back to the car park. You hid the book under your jacket just in case that friend of Tia's happened to see you carrying it.

Eventually, you made it back to Noah's truck, and you tossed the book and your purse onto the passenger seat. You set the route home and used your phone as a GPS again. You checked the time as you shoved the keys into the hole. It was '10:11'. You would likely get to Gravity Falls just before one o'clock before you would have to pick up Wendy at two.

You reversed out of the parking space and left the park, but not before quickly sending Noah a text.

* * *

**10:11 AM**

**Noah**

_Got the book. You owe me big time..._

* * *

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You took a sip from your frappuccino as you drove towards Gravity Falls. You had to admit, the drive back had been quite relaxing, especially with a frappuccino to drink. It had only been a week, and you already missed Starbooks.

As you noticed the sign on the side of the road, welcoming you to Gravity Falls, you felt that weird sensation again. You frowned as you felt yourself being pulled forward towards the town. Nausea and the migraine returned as you drove through the forest.

 _'Jesus Christ, what's wrong with me?'_ you thought with a sigh as you rubbed your head to help ease the pain, _'I remember seeing some painkillers in Noah's first aid box, I guess I'd better try and hold out until I get back to the cabin.'_

You carried on driving, but the migraine you had was the most troublesome. For a moment your head started spinning. Luckily it didn't interrupt your driving too much, but you did stumble with the foot pedals.

You then made it to town. As you drove through your eyes glanced at the hospital that you would soon be visiting. You sighed through your nose and turned away. You made a mental note to text Noah as soon as you got to the house. He still hadn't informed you whether they would be discharging him today or not. You would need to know whether you would have to bring him more stuff.

Eventually, you made it to Noah's house. You parked the truck and grabbed your purse along with the book before getting out of the vehicle. You quickly checked the time on your watch. It was '1:44'.

Time to get ready to meet Wendy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is now up-to-date! Chapter 7 will be uploaded before the end of the month hopefully. Expect to see a new chapter every month or two months at the latest unless some specific reason prevents me from doing just that. Expect a notification if that is the case. Subscribe to this story to know when I post Chapter 7, so you don't miss it!
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Although there is not much Bill, this chapter touches upon a side of (Name) that we have not seen up to this point. This chapter delves deep into (Name)'s character, and I have added a hell of a lot of symbolism into this chapter, it's crazy! A lot of stuff may seem random such as the charm bracelet, Prometheus and Tia's book but I assure you it does have significance to the story despite it may not seeming that way at first glance. I will be very impressed if anyone picks up on the symbolism, foreshadowing or draws connotations between certain features in this chapter and the story as a whole. Hope you're enjoying the series so far!
> 
> I have also added a code into this chapter as well as other previous chapters. This code has a heavier significance to the plot rather than just little references, and I will be very impressed if anyone notices and decodes it! Hint: it's not the regular three-letters-back Caesar Cipher code. Let me know in the comments if you think you have found it or if you have managed to pick out and/or interpret the symbolism in this chapter!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	9. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 7: Enjoy the Calm ▲

**   
**

**Arrival Arc: Enjoy the Calm **

* * *

You entered the cabin with a soft groan. You tossed your purse onto the couch for now and placed your frappuccino on the coffee table before checking your messages.

* * *

**1:46**

**Noah**

_Getting discharged. No idea when so I'll text you when to come_

_Ok x_

_Oh, and by the way, do you want me to bring the book?_

_No, just leave it in my room_

_Ok x_

* * *

You slipped your phone into your pocket before jogging upstairs to get Noah's stuff as you took the book with you.

Once you got to Noah's room, you placed the burgundy book on Noah's desk. Though you quickly found yourself gazing down at it for a few seconds, almost as if you were in a trance.

You felt guilty about what you did, and it was at that point you realized it. It wasn't the first time you had pickpocket someone, but back then you never had the chance to speak to the target and get to know them. The memory of it was ingrained in your mind, and it stirred a nauseous feeling in your stomach.

Alec had taught you how to shoplift and pickpocket back in 10th Grade. Although you had no need to pickpocket or shoplift since you had more than all the money you could ever ask for, you did it for sport. Alec was a nice guy, but he was obviously a bad influence. He had turned you into a more of a delinquent which was, therefore, quite a change. Back before the two of you became close, you were the rich, intelligent, good girl that your parents had raised you to be. You were still rich, and you were even more intelligent than you were before, but you were no longer what could be defined as a 'good girl.' Now, you shoplifted for fun, got drunk when you felt like it, became an out of control party freak, had smoked a cigarette or two, dated boys for no reason and became quite an unpleasant person to some—more than you initially were.

It was now you recalled the recent changes of your character since they were reflected when you stole the book from that young girl. Although it was partly Noah's fault for encouraging the behavior, you were mostly fault since you were the one who took the book and decided to go through with the whole act. You had a choice, and you made it.

You glared down at the book, before turning away.

You didn't want to look at it.

As you shifted your gaze elsewhere, your eyes set on the oil pastel painting. This time you stopped to have a good look at it. The picture was almost done with the whole page covered in monochrome oil pastel. However, the only section that wasn't yet 'colored' was the pencil outline of a man. You looked closer and noticed that it looked a lot like Noah. Although it was a bit early to tell, you assumed that he must have been drawing himself standing amongst the leaves and flowers.

You finally turned away to head downstairs to grab a quick snack before setting off to pick up Wendy.

You jogged downstairs and grabbed yourself an apple before making your way to the dining room. There on the table was some cash along with a shopping list. You quickly counted the money, discovering that Noah had left you $200. You were a bit shocked at the amount, but then you saw the long list of groceries and figured he must have given you that much to do a big weekly shop. Your eyes scanned over a few of the items on the list.

* * *

_Shopping List:_

_Milk (Large bottle)_

_Eggs x6_

_Butter x3_

_Carrots x7_

_Tomatoes x5_

_Broccoli_

_Potatoes x7_

_Lettuce_

_Onions x8_

_Cucumber_

_Peppers x3_

_Corn (on the Cob) x2_

_Apples x4_

_Bananas (1 bunch)_

_Oranges x4_

_Grapes (1 bunch)_

_Strawberries (Box of 10)_

_Lemons x3_

_Steak_

_Chicken_

_Bacon (Pack of 6)_

_Sausages (Pack of 6)_

_Ham_

_Bread (White)_

_Bagels_

_Pasta_

_Pasta Sauce_

_Jam_

_Honey_

_Mac and Cheese x4_

_Sugar_

_Salt_

_Tuna_

_Sardines x7_

_Cod_

_Cookie Chips_

_Burrito Bites_

_Chipackerz_

_Potato chips_

_Corncornos_

_Nyumalums_

Pitt Cola

_Grab some other things if you wish, but you're paying for that out of your own money. The $200 should cover everything on that list._

* * *

You rolled your eyes before grabbing both the money and the list as you walked to the living room to grab your purse and frappuccino. Once you stuffed the list and cash into your bag, you speed walked over to the mirror in the corridor and checked your appearance. After quickly running your fingers through your hair and making yourself look a bit more presentable with a new coat of lipstick; you grabbed the keys to the truck and exited the cabin before locking the front door.

You jogged over to the red truck and jumped into the driver's seat for the third time that day. You started the engine and drove away from Noah's cabin and headed left in the direction of Wendy's house. You looked around and kept your eye out for Wendy's house.

After five minutes of driving, you saw a short dirt path branching off to the left, leading up to a small house. You noticed three young boys with auburn hair playing outside. You stopped the truck and saw a familiar redhead exit the cabin while adjusting her blue and white cap.

You smiled and drove up the dirt path, immediately gaining the attention of the four other people. You stopped the vehicle and poked your head out of the window.

"Yo!" you called out to Wendy as a smile broke onto her face.

"Hey, dude! How are ya'?" she asked as she walked up to the truck.

"Peachy, you?"

"I'm doing fine."

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me go grab my bag!" she smiled as she turned around and made her way back into the house.

"Hi!" you heard a young voice call out to you as you turned to your left to see the youngest of the three boys grinning up at you. He had auburn red hair like Wendy and the other two boys, but he was the smallest and the youngest of the trio. He had an undercut with a pickle green shirt and navy blue pants. He looked to be around eight years old.

"Uh, hey?" you replied with an awkward smile. Unlike Noah, you had never been that good around kids. Whenever you encountered one, you would always act so stiff and awkward around them. You didn't particularly have anything against children, but it was hard to like a particular age group when they almost always ended up hating you for some unknown reason.

"Why are you in Noah's truck?"

"I'm borrowing it."

"Who are you?" the second son asked. He was slightly taller than the younger one but with a pompadour haircut and a more pronounced chin. He wore a long-sleeved teal shirt, dark brown shorts with brown suspenders, and a pair of brown boots. If you had to guess you would say he was about nine or ten.

"I'm (Name), Noah's cousin."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

"You too."

"So if you his cousin, how long have you been here? He's never mentioned you," the eldest of the three chimed in, taking a step forward. He was the tallest of the three while also seeming to be the most muscular. He had shoulder-length hair covering his eyes with a seaweed green woolly hat covering the top half of his head. He had the palest skin out of the three—similar to Wendy's—and wore an aquamarine shirt with a white undershirt, dark blue pants with blue suspenders, brown gloves, and a pair of brown boots. He also had a developing mustache above his lip which somewhat confused you. He looked to be about thirteen but had already begun to grow a mustache?

"I know. And I've been here for about a week now," you replied before noticing Wendy jog up to the truck out of the corner of your eyes. She had her bag and had changed her shirt to a plain purple T-shirt.

"Hey, it seems you've met my brothers," she beamed.

"Yes, but they are yet to tell me their names," you smiled.

"Well, this is Marcus, the oldest following me. Then we have Kevin, stubborn little guy," she smiled as Kevin stuck his tongue out at his sister, causing her to chuckle, "and lastly over here we have Gus, small but feisty."

"Hi!" they all said in sync before suddenly realizing what they just did and glared at one another.

"Nice to meet you all," you politely smiled.

"Well, I'm off! Tell dad I've gone out and that I'll be back later!" Wendy told her brothers as she got into the passenger seat.

As soon as Wendy clipped in, you started the engine and drove away from Wendy's house in the direction of town.

"Woah, where did you go this morning?" Wendy chuckled. You shot her a confused look which caused her to motion her head to the half drank Starbooks frappuccino.

"Huh?" you replied, feeling confused to what she was alluding to.

"There aren't any Starbooks around here for miles, so I was wondering what long trip you've been on," she chuckled.

"Oh right," you suddenly realized, "Noah asked me to go to this festival thing this morning to pick up some book," you shrugged as you kept your eyes on the road.

"Oh, I see. Far from here?"

"Quite. I gotta' say it was quite odd of a request but if he wants it then so be it. Though it was annoying having to drive all the way there and wait in that long line at the petrol station in town."

"Oh yeah, that place is always packed. We always have to walk there get the gas in a can because my dad always throws a fit when he has to wait in the queue. One time we had to stop him from getting into a fight with the guy in front," Wendy replied thinking back. "How did you hold up?"

You felt anger fill your veins at the memory.

**~oOo~**

_You leaned over the wheel as you glared at the car in front of you. You had been in the line for about 15 minutes now._

_You exhaled as the car in front drove forward and went to the pump. You drove forward as the car behind you drove forward as well. Good thing you set off early but you were now starting to run low on time. You just hoped the traffic wasn't bad between Gravity Falls and your destination._

_"Come on dude, how much fuel do you need?" You muttered as you watched the guy in front of you fill up his car with a dopey smile on his face as he stared off into space._

_You leaned back in your seat as you watched the guy finally remove the nozzle from the gas tank and close the fuel cap before hanging the pump nozzle back up._

_"I swear to God; you'd better pay at the pump or so help me I'll—" you cut yourself off as you watched the guy walk inside the building in front to go pay at the till. "Ugh, seriously? Excluding me, there are four other cars behind me! Why the hell are you paying at the till when you can pay at the pump and be more considerate to the people behind you? YOU'RE HOLDING UP THE LINE!" you growled as you watched the man browse the refreshments inside the shop like he didn't have a care in the world._

_It was then you noticed the long queue waiting in front of the till._

_With the person at the front happily chatting to the cashier while holding up the line._

_You glared at the person talking to the cashier, "Oh yes, stop and have a chat, why don't you? Holy mother of God! I hope you all painfully die in a ditch!" you screeched as you angrily gripped the steering wheel._

**~oOo~**

You were silent for a few passing seconds.

"I was fine," you smiled.

Within a few minutes, you had driven into town and were making your way to the hospital.

"I thought we could go pick up Noah and then get the shopping on the way back if that's alright with you?" you asked, taking a glance at Wendy.

"Whatever suits you dude," Wendy flashed you a laidback smile as she leaned back in the seat, placing her arms behind her head.

Within a minute, you and Wendy had made it to the hospital. You parked the truck and got out while Wendy did the same.

"Noah said he didn't know when he's getting discharged and hasn't messaged me since. I hope he'll be ready now," you said as you shut the truck door and adjusted your bag strap.

You then made your way into the lobby, immediately making your way over to the desk.

"I'm here to visit Noah (Surname)," you informed the woman at the desk.

"Names?"

"(Name) (Surname) and Wendy Corduroy."

The woman typed something onto her computer then looked back up at you and Wendy.

"What are your relationships to the patient?"

"Cousin and friend."

"Okay, he's in Room 3 in Block B."

You nodded, assuming that Noah had been transferred to another part of the building. You left the desk with Wendy following in your lead.

Within ten minutes you had made it to Noah's room. You and Wendy had made a few wrong turns since 'Block B' wasn't as easy to find as 'Block C.'

You speed-walked into the room and looked around for your cousin. However, you were surprised to see that Noah was no longer in a room of his own and that he had been transferred into a large ward with several other beds inhabited by other patients. You quickly spotted Noah in the bed closest to the door and walked over to him.

Noah was silently sitting up in bed with a pencil in his left hand while his sketchpad rested on his lap. The brunette kept his eyes on his work as the pencil ran over the paper, completely unaware of your presence.

You approached your cousin's bed and cleared your throat to get his attention. Noah silently looked up from his work, acknowledging your presence before shifting his eyes over to your redheaded companion with a mild look of surprise before looking back at you.

"You look better," you smiled as you stepped closer to Noah's bed.

"They've given me some medication which has helped my condition improve," he replied as he shut the sketchpad and turned his full attention to the pair of you.

"That's good."

"I see you've met freckles," he replied, motioning his head to Wendy.

"Hey dude, how are ya'?"

"No different from how I usually am," Noah shrugged.

"Noah you're in a hospital bed," you deadpanned.

"Exactly."

You rolled your eyes as Wendy walked up to Noah's bed.

"Dude, why didn't you tell us you're in the hospital?"

"I was planning to tell you if they planned to keep me here 'till Monday. I didn't want to bother you with it."

"But you're in hospital, my dad and my brothers are pretty worried."

"I'm fine freckles," Noah sent her a small smile of reassurance. Wendy nodded in response, but his words didn't convince you. You were planning to make Noah stay home on Monday and then see how he was feeling come Tuesday morning.

As Wendy and Noah talked, your curiosity got the better of you, and you picked up Noah's sketchpad. You opened it up and began looking through it.

The pages were filled with many pages of Noah's work. From a gel pen drawing of a birch tree to a pencil drawing of Gravity Falls water tower (with the side of the silly giant muffin being hidden), to a painting of a rose, to an oil pastel drawing of a meadow.

You observed the pictures with a look of fondness. Noah had always been great at art. You wondered why he didn't sell some of his work or do commissions. He was very talented and definitely had a passion for his little hobby, so it was a bit of mystery why he took up a low-paid job as a lumberjack in some off-the-map town in the middle of Oregon when he could be making money by exploiting his talent for what it had to offer.

You flicked through the pages to the middle of the book to observe what he had been working on when you came in. You felt a bit nosy, but Noah had never minded when you had admired his work in the past. Back then, it took a while to convince him to show you what he had produced, but he eventually let you see after you had proven to be his biggest fan.

You stopped when you flicked onto the second to last page of the drawings.

You observed the almost psychotic depiction of an image out of crayon.

The drawing consisted of a black background covered by messy red scribbles behind the main image of a large yellow triangle with an eye. The triangle was drawn out in pencil and colored in crayon, but the colors slightly escaped the lines. You found it hard to believe Noah would let such a thing happen unless it was intentional. Below the main image were some yellow scratchy scribbly words that looked like they had been written by a toddler. You read over the words with worry.

You glanced at Noah to see that his full attention was on Wendy. You looked back down at the image again and noticed that with a white gel pen, some weird symbols and shapes were drawn at the top of the page.

The whole image looked as if it had been drawn by a madman. The ominous writing and the creepy picture of the triangle caused an unpleasant feeling to settle in your stomach which quickly morphed into dread as you began to wonder what this meant psychologically and why Noah was drawing such things.

"(Name)?"

You blinked and quickly looked up at the owner of the voice. Noah was staring right at you with an unreadable expression. However, his gaze was very intense and filled you with apprehension as you subtlety flipped a few pages back.

"Hmm?" you replied, keeping your composure.

"Can I have my sketchpad?" he asked, holding his hand out.

"Sure," you smiled as you handed the book back.

"What were you looking at?" Noah asked as he took the book back and looked upon the page that you flipped to.

You stepped closer to the bed and observed the random page that you had already viewed. It was a painting of an area of where you assumed to be Gravity Falls forest.

"The painting of the forest. A lot of colors went into that one," you smiled.

"Ah, yeah. I painted that a few months ago," Noah nodded as he looked over his own work, "have you looked at any of the more recent ones?"

"No," you replied.

Noah nodded and shut his book. You took this moment to ask the main question that you had yet to ask.

"So have they told you when you're getting discharged?"

"They just informed me about half an hour ago. The nurse said they're planning to let me leave around four."

You quickly checked your watch before turning to Wendy.

"It's 2:35. Do you want to get the shopping and then come back here and pick up Noah?"

"Whatever works for you dude," she smiled.

You turned to Noah, "Is that alright for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Do you have the list and money I left out for you?"

You nodded, "Yeah, they're in my purse. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"No, just buy the stuff on the list. Don't worry about me," Noah sighed.

You nodded as you eyed your cousin. A light frown passed over your face before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Well, I guess we should head off now," you said with a grin.

Noah let out a yawn, "Yeah..."

"You seem tired. Why don't you take a nap?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You've got bags under your eyes..." you replied softly as you observed the developing dark rings under Noah's eyes. "Have you been sleeping? Or have you been staying up all night and only been getting a few hours of sleep for the past week?"

"I'm okay; I'm just a little sleep deprived. It's these hospital bads; they're exasperatingly uncomfortable..." the brunette sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, either way just try. Even though I'm making you go straight to bed once we get home, I need you to have _some_ energy so you can make the trip from here to the truck."

Noah grumbled while you lightly smirked in victory.

"Anyway, I'll see you later," you grinned and lightly punched his shoulder. Noah rolled his eyes but accepted it anyway.

"See ya' dude!"

"Bye freckles."

You and Wendy exited the ward and out into the hospital corridor. Your smile fell as you exhaled as the sixteen-year-old glanced to her right at you.

"You okay there dude?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Noah's in a bit of state, huh?"

"Yup. Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't half expecting something this."

"What do you mean?"

"Noah's had issues with sleep in the past. He's also a complete workaholic and sooner or later that leads to exhaustion, stress, and fatigue if nothing is done about it. Noah overworks himself, and he's been like that since he was thirteen. So him being sleep deprived? Can't say it's the biggest surprise," you sighed as you both turned a corner and entered the lobby.

"Well, he'll be alright. If you want, I can keep an eye on him at work?" Wendy suggested.

"Please do."

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You looked over the list in your hand and scanned the first item; it was milk. You put the list down and made your way over to the fridges.

"Hey, does Noah have a favorite food?" Wendy asked as she gazed at the ice-cream while you looked around for a large carton of milk.

"He eats anything, but if I remember correctly, he has a strong love for steak," you replied as you grabbed a large bottle of semi-skinned milk, "why?"

"Well if we're cooking later, why don't we make something that Noah would like for dinner?"

You pondered the idea for a moment. You saw no reason why not. Noah had just come out of the hospital, maybe making his favorite food for dinner might do some good? Noah always looked depressed, but that was just how he was. Although, there had been instances where he seemed genuinely happy. Unfortunately, at no point had you ever been the cause of it.

"Sure, seems like a good idea," you shrugged as you placed the milk in the basket. "I think steak might be on the list too, so we're not risking going over our budget."

"That's good. Once we get back to your place, we can start straight away."

You nodded and began to make your way to the aisle where they kept the eggs.

"Hey (Name)?"

"What?"

"You said you were going to be here for the summer, didn't you?"

"Yeah, seems that way," you replied as you grabbed a box of eggs and placed them into the basket.

"Well, I won't be able to hang out with you every day since I have my part-time job and of course, my friends will get a bit pissed if I never hang out with them," she chuckled as she followed you to the next aisle.

"Oh, that's fine. I didn't expect you to hang out with me every second," you replied as you flashed her a grin.

Truth was, the thought never occurred to you. You must have been too wrapped up in the idea of having a new _real_ friend that had no idea who you were and what kind of life you led. She had no idea who you were, she had no idea what your personality was like, she had no idea what your family was like (besides Noah, but he wasn't much of an issue) and she seemed like she would offer a genuine friendship.

However, looks can be deceiving. What did you know? Truth was, it was a double-edged sword. You didn't know anything about her either. You had no idea who she was; you had no idea what her personality was like, you had no idea what her family were like and could you offer a genuine friendship? The problem with fake friendships is that too many of them can rub off on you. You think that the other person is being the fake one, but before you know it, you're also participating, and eventually, your relationship starts to become even more toxic than it already was.

You thought back to your relationship with Charlotte. The both of you started out as real friends until she started ignoring you when you were both in the company of other people—especially if they were higher up in the social hierarchy—and only hanging out with you when she had no one else to be in the company of. You were no idiot. You could read the atmosphere. You quickly figured out that she didn't like you anymore and therefore you started disliking her as well and later started envying her. Unfortunately, when you made attempts to cut ties with her, like a boomerang, she kept coming back. Eventually, you just gave up and let her stick around despite it bringing you no pleasure at all.

As for Lillian and Karen. It was a similar story. You and Karen had known each other since Kindergarten since your mom, and her mom were friends. For a long while, you and she had been best friends until Charlotte took her place. The thing with Charlotte was, she was hard to dislike (at least, upon first meeting her). She was pretty, friendly and charismatic; much like you. So when you and Charlotte hit it off due to having a lot in common Karen started getting jealous. Though the thing was Karen was, she was stubborn couldn't take a hint so eventually just ended up third-wheeling you and Charlotte until you two up until today. Ever since then Karen had kept a grudge against you which had caused your relationship with her to become quite bitter. You couldn't complain though. You were petty as well and also held onto grudges, so if you were in her situation, you would probably be the exact same. Though, if it were you, you wouldn't have stuck around. The main difference between you and Karen was your immense amount of self-pride and her lack of it.

As for Lillian, you two had little to no backstory. She was a new student and you were tasked with showing her around and helping her make some friends. However, due to her poor people skills, she just decided to latch onto you and invite herself into your group. But no one did anything about it since it seemed as if you were the only one who minded. But alas, her presence quickly became another thing you had to get over and endure since life hated you. It was bad enough having to hang out with someone so dull; it was even harder having to cope with her trying to chat up your Alec.

"Hey, you know, you should meet my friends..." the redhead smiled.

You looked at her and pondered it for a short moment, "Well, what are they like?"

"Hmm...rowdy, loud, insanely stupid and kinda' intense," she chuckled as you grabbed three sticks of butter.

You thought for a moment before a recent memory entered your mind.

"Are they the other people I saw you with on Wednesday?" you asked.

"Yeah that's them," she replied with a lopsided smirk.

"I'll think about it," you nodded.

_'I don't know if I want to meet her friends. I don't know if I'll fit in or not. If I want them to like me, then I can make that happen, but I don't know much about them. If I don't monitor my own behavior, then they'll either think I'm a buzzkill if I hold back too much or think I'm way too intense if I don't hold back at all and show what I'm really like. Wouldn't be the first time...'_

Wendy nodded in understanding as she walked over to the shopping list and observed it.

Now you thought back; you remembered that Noah mentioned that Wendy's group liked anyone who wasn't a loser. You then felt a bit more comfortable and decided that you would just see how it goes.

"Hm, hey, this list is pretty long. Do you want me to get the carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and broccoli for you?"

"Yeah that would be great, thanks," you responded with a smile.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You let out a sigh as you placed the shopping into the trailer and clipped them in.

"Is that the last of them?" you asked.

"Yup, that's all of 'em."

You nodded and climbed into the driver's seat, and Wendy hopped into the passenger seat next to you. You started the engine and drove towards the hospital.

Within three minutes you were back at the hospital. You entered the lobby again and this time didn't bother to go to the desk and instead just made your way to Block B.

As soon as you entered Noah's ward, you saw him chatting to one of the nurses. He looked bored while the nurse was blushing.

Noah noticed you as you approached his bed.

"This is my cousin."

"Ah, I see. Well, as soon as you are ready, you are free to leave. Your rescue inhaler and control inhaler, along with your spacer are in this bag. Remember to take two puffs per day for the next month before going to the local pharmacy for a refill. Make sure you don't forget them before you leave," the young woman smiled as Noah just plainly nodded. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No."

You wanted to roll your eyes at the scene. You wished Noah would accept the fact that he was handsome and apply himself more when it came to interacting with the opposite sex. No doubt he was pushing other women away in hopes that Amelia would come back. This wasn't the first time you had seen him pull this stunt.

The young woman left, and you walked over to Noah's bed.

"You know, I think that nurse is into you. Ask her out," you stated.

Noah just raised an eyebrow, "Don't be stupid."

You let out a sigh and just decided to move away from the topic, "Anyway, are you ready to go?"

He let out a yawn, "Yeah..."

"You didn't take that nap did you?"

"I'm fine."

"Seriously—"

Noah cut you off with a sharp glare, "I told you, I'm fine. Just give it a rest already."

You stopped for a second and averted your gaze. Like the day before, a cold shiver traveled up your spine. You didn't understand why he was acting like this. You were really trying. You cared for his wellbeing, and you had been stressing about his condition since yesterday. You knew he didn't think you cared. You knew he thought you were only doing this to make yourself look better. To be honest, you weren't too sure whether that was the case or not. You felt obligated to help, but you didn't know how true your motives were. They had never been true with any other situation in your life so why would this be any different?

You avoided his eye contact and gave a simple response, "Okay."

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Noah finally got out of bed. You silently watched Noah collect his things before you all headed out.

The trip from the hospital was silent as you walked along behind Noah and Wendy. After Noah had alerted the woman at the desk of his departure, the three of you got into the truck while you drove since you didn't trust Noah at the wheel due to his fatigued state.

You and Wendy lightly chatted on the way back to Noah's cabin while Noah silently sat in the backseat.

After you had made it back to Noah's house, you and Wendy grabbed the shopping and brought it into the kitchen. As you placed the shopping bags on the table, you watched Noah ascend the staircase and head straight to his room.

"He seems upset dude, what's wrong with him?" the redhead asked as she leaned on the bench with her arms folded.

"I have no idea," you muttered as you put the shopping away.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Wendy frown, but you chose to ignore it.

"Hey..." you stopped and turned to look at the freckled girl. "After we've finished putting the shopping away how about we make steak dinner and fruit salad?" Wendy flashed you a smile as your nonchalant expression disappeared as a soft smile replaced it.

"Okay," you replied, your mood now brightening a bit more.

Maybe there really was a chance this friendship could be real?

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You picked up the paper bag with Noah's inhaler inside. You pulled out the boxes and read the packaging on each one. It seemed you would have to force Noah to take a breath later. You decided you would make him do it before he goes to bed.

Well... _if_ he goes to bed...

You placed the boxes back inside the bag and turned your attention to Wendy. She was busy steaming the vegetables.

The steak was already cooking in the oven. You grabbed a bowel and a knife before gathering the fruit you bought earlier that day.

After peeling the bananas and oranges and separating each of the grapes And strawberries from the stalks, you began to cut each of the fruit. You cut up the apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, and grapes and dumped them into the bowel. You then grabbed a spoon and began to mix the fruit up.

"Is the dinner nearly done?" you asked as you stirred the fruit.

"Yeah, the steak should be done in a few minutes. Have you finished the fruit salad?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna' go tell Noah that dinner's ready. Thanks for helping out. You should stay and have dinner with us," you replied with a warm smile.

"You sure dude? I don't want to intrude..."

"No, it's fine! You helped out so you should have some. There is enough for three since I don't tend to each much."

"Okay then, let me text my dad so I can let him know. Hopefully, he remembers how to use a phone..." she sighed which caused you to chuckle lightly.

As Wendy pulled out her phone, you waited for her to send her text. You then got an idea as you grabbed your phone from the counter. Admittedly you were little shy to ask this, but you were willing to take a risk and ask.

"Hey, can I have your number?" you asked. Wendy looked surprised for a moment before a grin broke out on her face.

"Sure dude! Here," she grinned as she handed you her phone. You smiled, but your smile faltered a bit once you noticed that Wendy owned a flip phone. You had never used one of these in your life, so you were quite confused. You then began to wonder how she went about life with one of these. The bloody thing was ancient!

"Uhh..." you quietly let out as you stared at the glowing blue screen.

"You've never used one of these before have you?"

"No...I've only ever used uPhones and Sumsungs..."

"Just read it out to me," she smiled as she took back the phone.

You and Wendy both exchanged numbers before you informed her that you would go get Noah.

You went upstairs and knocked on Noah's door, "Hey Noah dinner's ready!"

You waited a few moments but heard no response. You frowned and knocked on the door again, "Noah?"

This time you heard a faint grumble come from inside the room. You raised an eyebrow and twisted the knob before opening the door.

Noah was lying on top of his bed while still in his clothes. You noticed that his trainers were carelessly cast across the floor next to the bed. You figured that he must have gone straight to bed, took off his shoes and fell asleep.

"Noah? Dinner's ready."

Noah didn't move or make a sound. You approached the bed and observed your cousin from the side. His eyes were closed and didn't react to the sound of your footsteps.

"Noah."

"Go away," he rudely grunted as you frowned.

"Dinner's ready," you huffed.

"Wrap it up and put it in the fridge," his eyes remained closed, but despite this, he seemed quite moody, "now leave me alone."

His words caused your mood to drop drastically. You still felt bitter from earlier when he snapped at you so seeing him use this tone with you caused you to react quite negatively.

" _Well fuck you too_ ," you replied with a sharp venomous tone as you stormed out of his room, making sure to slam his door on your way out. However, his last words before you exited his room shocked you like a slap to the face.

"Piss off Amelia."

You had already slammed the door by the time you had processed what he just said. You glanced behind you at the white door as if you were looking back on the newly formed memory. You silently descended the stairs as his words rang through your head.

Once you got back to the kitchen, you chose to temporarily forget what just happened.

"What was that all about?" Wendy asked with a concerned look. You immediately assumed that she must have been referring to the way you dramatically slammed the door on your way out of Noah's room.

"Oh, nothing. Just me being the drama queen again," you chuckled, but it was forced. Convincing, but as phony as a three-dollar bill.

Wendy lightly chuckled before turning to the three plates, "Is Noah coming down?"

"No," you replied as you went through all of the draws looking for some tin foil. You quickly found some in one of the top draws. "He seems really tired, so I'm just going to put this in the fridge for him."

Wendy nodded as you covered Noah's plate in tin foil before placing it in the fridge amongst the raw vegetables. You turned back to the auburn-haired girl to see her walking into the dining room with two plates.

You grabbed two Pitt Colas and entered the dining room not long after Wendy. You handed her one of the cans while you placed the other one near your plate. Wendy thanked you for the drink as the two of you sat down.

Wendy slouched in the chair and got comfortable as she removed the white and blue cap from her head and placed it on the table next to her plate. She sighed through her nose as she ran her hand through her hair. You figured that her head must have gotten hot from wearing her hat. To be honest, you were shocked she was able to wear it for that long. The longest you could wear one was twenty minutes max.

"Hot head?" you laughed as a smirk grew on Wendy's face.

"Yup."

"That's a nice hat by the way," you said as you observed the hat.

"Thanks. It's not mine though."

"Who's is it?"

"It belongs to a close friend. We swap hats every year since it's this mushy tradition that we have going on," she smiled as you nodded in understanding.

A silence passed as you tasted the meal. It was quite good, and you were proud of the work gone into it, despite Wendy doing most of the work once again. You hoped that maybe you could make something all on your own without any help. You had never been good at cooking, and whenever you tried, the meal always turned out burnt, undercooked or colored in such a way that it could be considered suspicious.

"By the way..." you started as Wendy looked up at you, "I want to meet your friends."

Her face lit up, "Sweet! They may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but they'll love you, dude!"

"Though, I know you've already told me what they're like but what are they like _individually_?" you asked, slightly interested.

"Hmm, well Lee is the blond one with long hair that usually messes around with his best friend Nate—the one with the tattoos up his arms. Then there's Thompson who let us hang his boxers on the Northwests' washing line last week. Tambry is the quiet one who's always on her phone, and then there's the emo Robbie—he's dating Tambry. Then, of course, there are my other friends at the place I work, but those lot are the ones I mostly hang out with," she explained as she leaned back in the chair.

"They sound interesting," you smiled.

"We're going out spray painting tomorrow evening; you wanna' come?"

You flashed her a smile, "Okay! Well...as long as we're not running the high risk of getting arrested," you chuckled.

Wendy chortled and took a sip of her Pitt Cola, "No, although we have almost been arrested a few times, the place we're going to is very out of the way."

"What on earth did you almost get arrested for?" you asked, your interest peaked.

"Just regular stuff. Vandalism, loitering, shoplifting, drinking in public...Lee and Nate once got into an intense fight which caught the attention of the cops since it was in the middle of town."

 _'Don't think_ _crime_ _is the type of thing that you_ _label as 'regular stuff'..._ _'_

You had done all of the things Wendy had listed (excluding the public fight) so what she said didn't bother you at all.

You chuckled, "I remember Noah mentioning that you lot sometimes get into trouble."

"Your cousin is a great guy. He actually managed to save my ass when the cops almost caught me shoplifting."

This definitely caught your interest.

"What happened?"

"It was around Valentines Day. I was grounded for skipping my chores, and my dad had temporarily confiscated my purse so I couldn't go out shopping. I was furious and snuck out anyway despite having no money. At this time I wanted this leather jacket that I had my eye on for ages. The jacket was really expensive, and for the time I hadn't been able to afford it. I had been saving up for the past two months. The main reason I was so mad was that I finally had enough money to afford it and my dad had taken my purse and got Gus to hide it God knows where. However, that day was the last day the jacket would be sold before they would get in the Spring clothes. So I went out in hopes of just stealing it..." Wendy looked down looking slightly ashamed, but you weren't fazed at all by her story. If you were in her situation, you would have probably ended up doing the exact same thing.

The redhead briefly glanced up to see your reaction and seemed slightly shocked to see you with your head in your hand smiling at her, motioning for her to continue.

"Anyway, when I got to the shop, I saw Noah, and we chatted for a bit. I found out he was shopping for a Valentines Day gift for his girlfriend, surprise surprise," Wendy rolled her eyes at this while you did the same. "Anyway, I eventually got hold of the jacket and took it into the changing room to shove into my bag. Unfortunately, the jacket must have had one of those discreet security tags since the alarm went off straight away even though I checked for security tags and stickers. Luckily Noah got to me and told me to tell security that I was fifteen and that I should call his number instead of my dad's. Security then took me into the backroom, and I did what he told me. I didn't tell them that I was sixteen and didn't have the police get involved. Noah then came to pick me up, claiming that he was my brother-in-law. He took me home and surprisingly didn't tell my dad about what happened."

You blinked and remained silent. Noah had never been the Good Samaritan type, so you wondered what drove him to stick his neck out for Wendy.

"He got me out of trouble, and I really owe him..."

"Have you not been able to repay that?" you asked with interest.

Wendy shook her head, "No."

You nodded in understanding, wondering what to say next. However, Wendy beat you to it.

"Well, that's my friends and me. Put off yet?" she chuckled going back to the subject of her friends. The question was lighthearted, but you could tell that it was secretly a serious question.

"No way," you replied as a lopsided smile appeared on your lips. A grin appeared on Wendy's face as well.

"In that case, I'll text you tomorrow about it. I think we're all heading out around seven."

"Would it be okay if we go together? It's just that I haven't fully explored this whole place and Noah said it's easy to get lost so..."

"Sure thing dude, I can swing by around half past six if you'd like?"

"Yeah!" you grinned, feeling more confident about the whole ordeal. You wouldn't have to worry about accidentally ending up in the Bahamas or something.

The rest of the meal featured you and Wendy talking about regular stuff. You got to know each other a bit more and therefore got a little closer in comparison to the previous day.

Strangely enough, despite only knowing Wendy for a few days, you had somehow managed to get close to her in rapid time. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but that was when you were consciously using your charisma to make friends. With Wendy, you hadn't necessarily been going out of your way to be friendly with her.

Throughout dinner, Noah never came downstairs. Not that you cared much. You still were pissed at him for acting like a complete asshole. What pissed you off, even more, was that you were the one running all of his errands for him. You even made him his favorite dinner! Though, you would see his reaction to that later on.

After you and Wendy finished the fruit salad and you put some in the fridge for Noah, the two of you bid your farewells and Wendy went home.

Once Wendy had left you went upstairs and got ready for bed. Much to your displeasure, you went to Noah's room with his inhaler to make sure that he used it. You were thankful that he was half asleep and didn't give you too much trouble.

After you had done your long nightly ritual, you climbed into bed and pulled out your laptop. Now that the wifi was working you could finally use the internet like usual.

A few hours passed with you watching MeTube videos and messaging your mom. Around nine o'clock, you began to feel tired and put your laptop away. Within ten minutes you had fallen asleep after switching off the lights.

The night was a peaceful one. At no point were you woken up by Noah. In fact, he didn't leave his room at all.

No sound was present in the house apart from the soft whirring of the air conditioning and the light snores that came from the two inhabitants. However, the outside forest was alive with life and sounds from the faint squeaking of vampire bats to the high pitched clicking sounds of The Moth Man, to the loud 'M-Hoo' of the Cowls. The waxing moon was high in the sky as the murky grey clouds hid patches of the silver stars that shone amongst their inky black background.

For the first time since Monday evening, you had a peaceful sleep. No dreams, no distractions, and no disruptions.

You were at peace.

* * *

Click [here](https://www.deviantart.com/yandereswithknives/art/Bill-Cipher-Drawing-from-Cipher-Psychosis-777807902) to check out the image on DeviantART!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 is finally out! Just in time for Christmas! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Expect to see Chapter 8 in January. I will spend these two weeks working on it since I now have a holiday to work on this. I will also be proofreading the previous chapters since I am aware that there are some minor misspellings, missing words and grammar mistakes. Hope you all have a great Christmas and a great New Year! The featured in the story was made by me. It's not exactly art but it wasn't meant to be. Let me know in the comments if you manage to decode the white Cipher text! I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts and interpretations! Click the link above to check it out on DeviantART! Merry Christmas! 🎄
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	10. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 8: Before the Storm ▲

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day has been great! Aside from the fact that Noah is asleep and refuses to wake up, things have been okay. (Name) goes out and has fun with Wendy and her friends, though she comes home drunk. Good job (Name)!
> 
> ✞ This chapter was written in loving memory of Ted the gnome, may he rest in peace. ✞

**Arrival Arc: Before the Storm**

* * *

Letting out a sigh, you opened the lid on the bottle of pills. You tipped two out and briefly observed the green tablets with the small black markings on the front. '600 to 1,000 IU' was what was written across the small capsules.

For the past week, you had forgotten to take your Vitamin D supplements. Which could be excused, since you didn't have to take them until now. Since you had a hereditary Vitamin D deficiency passed down to you from your mother, your mom asked your doctor to give you some prescribed pills for when you went to Oregon. Since you lived in Florida with the blazing sun, you didn't need to take any form of medication to increase your Vitamin D levels since you were regularly exposed to UV rays all year around. However, now you were traveling to Oregon — a state further north with a colder climate — you would possibly need the medication.

You remembered your private doctor informing you that you should take one to two pills a day and eat lots of red meats, egg yolks, and oily fish to help regulate your deficiency and keep your Vitamin D levels high. However, despite your doctor's advice to eat the food rather than rely on medication, the pills were prescribed as well. You remembered curtly nodding after the doctor had finished his monologue and took the piece of paper with your prescription and dosage written down.

As you filled your cup with water, you also remembered your doctor telling you what would happen if you failed to keep your Vitamin D levels up. Apparently, there were a few effects, but the ones that stood out to you were a weaker immune system, and increased fatigue.

For the past week, you had been sleeping in the mornings. You knew the main reason for that Noah keeping you up by staying up late and waking you up before the cockerel crows. Although, that morning you had woken up late despite having a good sleep. You then started to wonder if the reduced sunlight had affected your Vitamin D levels for them to begin their decrease. However, it was hard to tell since you were losing sleep anyway.

Without thinking, you placed both capsules in your mouth and took a large gulp of water, swallowing the two pills simultaneously. You struggled to swallow the two capsules and suddenly it felt like you had swallowed a rock. You coughed, and put the box away. You had swallowed them together, now you were paying the price.

You closed the lid and placed the carton back inside your small toiletries bag. You exited the bathroom and glanced at Noah's bedroom door. You weren't woken up by Noah that morning, but in all honesty, you weren't surprised. Noah had just come out of the hospital after all, and then there was the way he was acting yesterday. You wondered if he had gone to work.

You inwardly sighed as you walked up to Noah's door and knocked. No immediate response came from inside the room, so you decided to speak.

"Hey Noah, you in there?" you called out but received no reply. You frowned and knocked again and spoke a bit louder, "Noah!"

You assumed that the room was empty and that he must have already headed off to work but decided to open the door and check anyway. As you checked inside the room, much to your surprise you saw Noah fast asleep as he was sprawled across his double bed with one of his legs hanging over the side. Soft snores came from his slightly ajar mouth and his hair was all messy and tangled.

You walked over to the right side of Noah's bed and checked the time on his digital alarm clock that sat on his bedside table. The green numbers glowed '9:45 AM'. Your attention then shifted to the drawn curtains that hid the morning sunrays from entering the room, shrouding the whole place in darkness.

You tapped Noah's shoulder but got no response. You tried a couple more times until you started shaking him. However, regardless of what you did, he wouldn't wake up. You eventually sighed in defeat and exited the room, deciding to just give up and leave him be.

Once you got downstairs, you decided to try your hand at making a proper breakfast. Admittedly you had never tried making one before, but you felt pretty good that morning, so you grabbed your phone and looked up some internet recipes on how to make a cooked breakfast. Once you had clicked on the first link, you gathered some bacon, and egg, sausages and some bread along with the required pots and pans. You also prepared to make yourself some coffee.

For the next half hour, you spent the time following the recipe and cooking. You didn't feel entirely confident cooking due to your history of burning and undercooking food. Although you did your best following the recipe as best as you could. You cooked the bacon until it was crispy, cooked the sausages until they were brown and fried the egg until it was white around the edges and no longer had a jelly-like surface. Admittedly, you weren't doing much with the toast and the coffee, but there weren't any other fancy ways to make them, so you just had to use the toaster and coffee maker (besides using the kettle for the coffee but you were too lazy to use that).

Once you had taken the bacon, egg, and sausages out of the pan and removed the toast from the toaster, you placed the food on a plate and poured your coffee. As soon as you were done, you went back up to your room, deciding to have breakfast in bed.

As soon as you got back to your room, you sat down on your bed, pulled out your laptop and went to Betflix. You tried your food and surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as you expected it to be. The bacon was good along with the egg. The sausages were a bit undercooked in the middle, so you ended up not eating them, but overall, the meal was a success compared to your previous attempts at making something.

Your phone buzzed as you received a text. You checked the message and saw that it was from your dad. You replied, but after you did you soon found yourself getting engaged in a conversation.

**7:54**

**Dad**

_Hey kiddo, how are you?_

_Fine, you?_

_Good! Abdul and I have just arrived in Sydney and we're now at the hotel_

_How long are you there for?_

_Well, there will be various presentations and meetings that I will have to attend, but we plan to be here for a fortnight at least. Abdul suggested that we do some sightseeing while we're here. Can't blame him, Australia is pretty amazing! We should come here on holiday one time! :)_

Great. So while you were sitting on a bed with hideous sheets in an even more hideous room, your dad was having fun in Sydney with his secretary, making plans to do some tourism.

_Well, have fun_

_How has your first week in Gravity Falls been? What is it like? Great? Ok? Shit?_

_Mediocre._

_I see. Well, I heard the place has a nice landscape! Maybe you could take some photos to put on social media? Show all your friends?_

Yeah, like would ever consider doing that. Why in the world would you want anyone knowing you were in a place like Gravity Falls? People would think you were broke and that you decided to go on a budget holiday to who knows where. As far as everyone else knew, you were in LA, splashing the cash at the shops, getting a tan, having fun in Hollywood and sneaking into the odd nightclub. No way would you admit you were anywhere else, especially to someone like Charlotte who was shopping in New York.

_Not going to happen_

_Oh well, tell Noah I hope he gets better. Is he out of the hospital yet?_

_Yeah he is, but he's taking the day off work_

_Probably for the best!_

_I have to go now. I'll talk to you later, yeah?_

_Yeah, see ya x_

After finishing your conversation with your dad, you went to your text conversation with Alec. You felt bad forgetting about him, but your week had been a bit distracting. You wondered where he was and what he was doing. After that dream with him, you decided you would text him to check up on him.

**7:57**

**Alec**

_Hey, sorry I haven't texted you in a while, been kind of busy. How are you?_

You put your phone down when you didn't get an immediate response. Though you did check the messages, you had from Louie and Charlotte.

**7:58**

**Louie**

**_Tuesday 14:25_ **

_Hey!_ 😘😘

_Where r u? Why aren't u in school?_

**_Tuesday 15:15_ **

_Hey why won't u respond 2 me? Have I done something?_ 🙁

**_Wednesday 9:36_ **

_Baby if I've done something I'm sorry ok?_ 🙁❤️ _Just plz respond_

**_Wednesday 19:45_ **

_U haven't been in school for days! Is this about what happened in destinyland? Are u sick??_

**_Friday 12:03_ **

_Ur friends are wondering where u r! Have u gone on holiday or something??_

_Hello? U there??_

**_Friday 12:03_ **

_Heeeeeeellllllllloooooooo_

_Please talk!!!! xx_

_Baby I miss u_ _xx_

_I'm sorry xx_

**_Saturday 14:56_ **

_Plz respond to me xx_

_I love you_

You rolled your eyes at his pathetic texts. It was at that moment you realized how he had been the last person you were thinking about. You weren't even thinking about him let alone missing him. It felt nice. Nicer than it should. It was pretty clear you no longer cared for him if you cared for him at all in the first place.

_I've been busy since I've been on holiday all week. My dad managed to organize our flight to LA, two weeks earlier. Sorry I didn't tell you. Oh and by the way, I'm breaking up with you, sorry._

You sent the savage text without batting an eyelid before muting the conversation. You didn't want your notifications being blown up by the avalanche of angry-sad texts that you would soon receive. You could deal with him another day, and in the meantime, you would ignore him for another week. The guy really wasn't worth the time.

You then checked your conversation with Charlotte. Hers wasn't flooded with as many texts as Louie's, but that didn't mean it was any less painful to read.

**7:57**

**Charlotte**

**_Monday 9:45_ **

_What the fuck, where are you?!_

_Why aren't you in school??_

**_Tuesday 10:21_ **

_Hello?? Where r u???_

**_Friday 11:29_ **

_Karen has just told us that you're on holiday._

_Apparently, your mom told her mom that you're with your cousin or something._

_Could have at least TOLD US!_

**_Friday 13:14_ **

_Oh ok, I see how it is._

_Just go ignore me then you fucking bitch!_

You groaned as you slowly dragged your hand down your face. You didn't understand why she always had to know _exactly_ what was going on in your life. Like it was any of her business!

You huffed and pondered your reply. You knew that regardless of what you responded with, Charlotte would jump straight into an angry array of texts. No matter what words you used, Charlotte would immediately be set off as soon as she would view the message.

You finally decided on your reply.

_Sorry Char, I've been busy since a lot of stuff has been happening. My dad and I went on holiday to LA two weeks early, and my cousin has met me there. Hope you enjoy New York and tell Lillian and Karen that I hope they enjoy their holidays as well xx_

You left it at that, deciding to take the non-confrontational approach. If you were lucky, Charlotte would shun you and give you the chance to make proper amendments in September when you returned to school.

You finally put your phone down after muting Charlotte as well, not wanting to hear the annoying pinging of your phone every few minutes. If you didn't put your phone on silent, your phone would be making noises non-stop with messages from both Louie and Charlotte. What an absolute nightmare. By the end of the day you would have lost half of your sanity. God, when did you let such toxic people enter you life?

After you put your phone down, you opened your laptop and amused yourself with some entertainment, completely forgetting about your life back in Florida.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You walked into Noah's room with the intent of waking him up. You were about to make yourself some lunch, and you were slightly concerned about Noah's appetite. He skipped last night's dinner and breakfast, so surely he must have been hungry by now!

You entered Noah's room to see it in the exact same state that it was in that morning. The curtains were still drawn, and the whole bedroom was still shrouded in darkness.

You made your way over to your cousin to see him sleeping on his belly, as if he had just flopped onto his bed and passed out right then and there (and that was probably exactly what happened). You shook him to get some sort of conscious reaction.

"Noah, wake up I'm making lunch."

No response.

"Noah."

Still nothing.

"Noah wake up!"

After you still got no reaction out of him, you let out a sigh and vigorously shook him one final time. If it weren't for the fact that he was softly snoring, you would have thought he was dead. You still got no response, so you decided to give up... _again_.

You began to make your way out of the room, but you quickly turned back when you saw a shadow move out of your peripheral. You turned to the wall to where you saw the shadow move, but there wasn't anything there. You weren't too sure what you thought you saw, but it was small.

You frowned and shook it off. If your cousin's house had ghosts, then that was his problem.

You finally left the room, deciding to make yourself some lunch, even though Noah still wasn't awake. You would question his sleeping habits when he woke up.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You glanced at your watch with a confused expression. Wendy was late. As you read a book to pass the time, you began to wonder what was keeping her.

You then heard a knock resound at the door and you got up to answer it.

"Hey Wendy!" you smiled after you swung open the door.

"Hey, dude, sorry I'm a bit late," she apologized as you let her in.

"Oh, it's no trouble. What kept you?" you asked as you observed her appearance. She wore a black cami top with a red flannel shirt as a jacket, some jeans, and some slightly muddy boots. However, the first thing you noticed was that she was wearing a different hat today. Instead of her blue and white cap, she wore a wooly brown lumberjack hat.

"Some friends of mine arrived here this afternoon, and I was spending the day with them, catching up and stuff. I kind of ended up losing track of time during all of the excitement. Sorry if I kept you waiting," she apologized again as you just waved her off. "Anyway, how was your day? Is Noah doing alright?"

"He's been sleeping all day. I tried waking him up so he could come downstairs and have breakfast and lunch, but he didn't wake up," you shrugged as Wendy's face suddenly twisted into one of alarm. You stared at her confused, before quickly catching on. "Oh and he's not dead, I checked," you casually replied as Wendy visibly relaxed.

_'Unfortunately for me...'_

"So you're telling me he hasn't eaten since yesterday?"

"Yup, he's basically skipped three meals. No idea if and what he ate at the hospital but either way it's still worrying."

"Do you want me to try and wake him up?" she asked.

"You can try, but I've tried shaking him as hard as I can, and that still got no reaction out of him. Maybe we can pour water over him?" you mused.

Wendy laughed, "I guess we can consider that as a last resort."

You and Wendy went upstairs to Noah's room. You watched Wendy look around, and then you remembered that she still hadn't seen the upstairs of Noah's house.

The two of you entered your cousin's bedroom, and this time you shamelessly switched the lights on. However, as expected, this got no reaction out of the man on the bed.

You let Wendy go up to your cousin and start shaking him. When she got no reaction, she frowned and tried again, only harder this time.

You spent the next few minutes watching Wendy shake him, loudly clap her hands, yell and even resort to doing what Noah did to you, pulling the covers off him. However, Noah remained as still as a rock, minus the soft rising and falling of his chest. Wendy eventually sighed and turned to you in defeat.

"Are you _sure_ he isn't dead?"

"Well right now I'm going on the assumption that he accidentally sniffed some chloroform back at the hospital."

Wendy chuckled, "He was in the car for ten minutes, I doubt that was the case."

"Delayed effects?" you suggested with a shrug.

Wendy chuckled again at your jokes as she began walking to the door, "Where is the medical stuff? I think we should check his temperature and see if he's ill."

"There's a medical box in the cupboard downstairs. It's the room next to the living room."

Wendy nodded before exiting the room. Once she left, you walked over to Noah. You gazed at his face for a few moments. His expression looked serene even though his mouth was unattractively hanging open. However, you noticed that his eyes kept scrunching and relaxing every few minutes. You wondered what was causing this but went with the assumption that he might have just been having a nightmare or something.

A thought came to you, and you reached out to his face to check his eyes. You wanted to see if they were watery or bloodshot. You remembered that you once woke up with bloodshot eyes when you were younger. Your mother went into a panic while Ava was left to care for you and call for your doctor.

You slowly opened Noah's left eye to check it. It didn't appear to be red but getting it to open was a bit challenging. You then moved to the right one to open it. Though, as soon as your fingers neared it, it scrunched up like a sea anemone. You raised an eyebrow and tried to pry it open. It took a few moments but you were eventually able to open it for a split second.

Your eyes widened as you viewed Noah's right eye. It wasn't bloodshot, but it looked oddly familiar to that night when you went downstairs to make tea. The eye was golden, and the pupil was slit.

Noah suddenly jolted, startling you before he shifted his head to the left, so it was facing away from you.

It was then you heard footsteps climb the stairs and enter the room. You looked up to see Wendy come in with a thermometer. She flashed you a smile and handed you the thermometer.

"It seems he's moved."

"Yeah he has..." you replied looking down at your cousin. You went against the idea of telling her what you just saw. You had no idea how she would react, and you didn't want to run the risk of scaring off your new friend. The last thing you needed was for her to think you were insane or a lying bastard.

You took the thermometer and walked over to the other side of Noah's bed. You stuck the thermometer into his mouth and took his temperature. After waiting for a few minutes, you checked it.

Your eyes widened as you checked the temperature. The red line had moved up to 39°C. You vaguely remembered a biology lesson, when your biology teacher told you that the general body temperature was 37°C and anything above or below meant you were ill.

"He has a fever," you said as you looked away from the thermometer. "I'll go get him a wet cloth."

You looked at Wendy to see her staring down at Noah's desk. You raised an eyebrow and walked over to her to see what had caught her attention. She was staring down at the book with the golden handprint with an unreadable expression.

"Oh, that's the book I got from the festival yesterday," you informed her as she picked it up and opened it to the first page.

"Have you read it?" she asked, keeping her eyes glued to the pages as she flicked through them.

"No, not really."

"Where was this festival thing? How did you come across this?"

"I think it was at Crater Lake. It was being sold at a confiscated items stall, and Noah said he wanted it so I... _bought_ it for him..."

Wendy placed the book back down.

"You okay?" you asked, curious about her slightly odd behavior.

Wendy looked up at you and met your gaze with a smile.

"Yeah," she grinned as she began to walk out of the room, "Hope you and Noah find some time read it. I'll go make us some food before we go. I imagine he'll be alright since it appears he only has a fever. Go get him a wet cloth while I make the food," the red-haired girl flashed you one final smile before exiting the room.

You heeded her words and entered Noah's bathroom and found a navy blue washcloth. You quickly ran it under some water and squeezed out the excess liquid. You returned to Noah's room and placed the cloth over his forehead.

As you viewed his face, his last words from yesterday rang in your head.

_"Piss off Amelia."_

Did you really remind Noah of Amelia that much? No, you were nothing like her. Amelia was selfish, arrogant, rude, possessive, greedy, manipulative, vain, and many other things. There was no way you and her were similar. The idea of you being anything like her was degrading. If you had to list someone who you wished to never become, it would be her. Although Amelia was gorgeous — in fact, she was admittedly the most beautiful person you had ever met in your entire life — her beauty only resided on the outside and didn't reach the inside. Her horrible personality balanced out her almost bewitching appearance.

You shook away the mental image of Noah's ex and walked out of the room. The woman was thankfully gone forever and didn't deserve any more thought.

You got downstairs to see Wendy making some pancakes. You leaned against the kitchen counter as Wendy cooked.

"I feel kind of guilty leaving him here alone."

"I wouldn't worry dude. Noah's a tough, independent guy; he can look after himself."

"Now that he's eaten Snow White's apple, I'm not so sure about that."

"Well I'd suggest leaving a note for him just in case he wakes up. He's probably just tired from the drugs or the shock of it all. Though, if he's still asleep when you get back, maybe try contacting the hospital?"

"I guess so. It's concerning, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. For all I know, he could have been waking up when I'm not in the room, and he's just a heavy sleeper," you sighed. "No, I'm not going to let him get in the way. He's been a dick despite all I've done for him these past few days. Today has been such a nice day, and I don't want to be running around after a grown man."

Wendy chuckled, "Well, how about we eat these pancakes and then head off? You can write him a note in the meantime."

You nodded and left the room to get some paper and a pen. Wendy spent the next few minutes making the pancakes while you quickly wrote out a note for Noah in case he woke up.

_Hey gone out with Wendy and her friends for the night. Be back soon. There are some steak leftovers in the fridge for you. Not sure when I'll be back, but text me if something happens. See you later._

_\- (Name)_

▲ △ ▼ ▽

For the next hour, you and Wendy ate the pancakes before you went upstairs to get changed. It was a tough decision at first, but you soon settled on a white crop top, some skinny jeans, a black leather jacket, and some sneakers. You complimented the look with some stud earrings, a choker and some rose gold rings.

You gazed at yourself in the mirror and viewed your appearance. Your white crop top had the words 'Omnium Rerum Principia Parva Sunt' written on the front in black New Times Roman. However, your eyes were drawn to the small birthmark on your hip.

You quickly pulled your jeans over it and turned away from the mirror as you reached for your bag. You left your room and briefly checked Noah's room.

"Hey, I'm going out."

As expected you got no response, but you decided it was at least worth making an attempt to talk to him in hopes he would maybe hear you. However, it seemed as if your effort was in vain.

You rolled your eyes and closed the door and went downstairs to see Wendy. She was standing in front of the door before she noticed you coming down the stairs.

"Wow, nice outfit. I really like the jacket!"

"Thanks!"

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Did you check on Sleeping Beauty?"

"Yeah, he's still asleep, of course."

"Well if there's nothing you can do then you might as well leave him to it until we get back. I wouldn't worry too much, one time Gus slept for nearly three days straight when he had the flu so I imagine Noah may be awake when you get back."

"Yeah."

You and Wendy then left the cabin after you locked the door behind you. Once you got outside, you finally noticed how late it had gotten since Wendy arrived.

The forest looked much more creepy at night. You looked out into the dark wilderness and tried to make out everything amongst the trees. You blinked when you were positive you saw a shadow move. Your eyes immediately settled on that one spot, alive and alert. However, all you saw were trees and darkness.

"So which way are we going?"

"Through the forest to the cliffs. My friends will meet us there. They're really eager to meet you!"

"You told them about me?" you asked with interest.

"Course I did! I wasn't going to bring a stranger along without telling them, so I texted them this morning to tell them that I'm bringing you with me."

You nodded in understanding as you followed Wendy through the forest. Your eyes flicked from left to right, observing your surroundings. If you were an author, you would base a horror story on the forest you were walking through.

Something about the forest was strange. You couldn't explain the odd vibes you got from it or how you felt an unsettling paranoia. Usually, when you got a feeling like this, you were right. Sometimes you trusted your intuition more than logic.

"How much further do we have to go?" you asked as you took a glance behind you. Walking through the forest at night was ten times more unnerving that is was in the day. Since nothing had happened yet, and since you were with a girl who looked like she knew how to defend herself, saying you were scared would be a bit of an overstatement.

'Scared' is to cause great fear or nervousness through any frightening method, intentionally or not. The word 'scared' didn't apply to your situation. Yes you were unnerved, but you were filled with 'bravery,' an antonym of scared and something that lived inside your personality. Whether that was a strength or a flaw depended on the context and whether someone would consider 'bravery' to be a more positive synonym for 'stupid'. In most cases, it's not, but some people like to believe it is so they can sleep better at night. Though, there are situations when 'stupid' is a better terminology as opposed to 'brave.' That again depends on context.

"Bit of a way to go. I'd say another fifteen minutes, and we'll be there. Sorry about the creepy forest, it's not to scary is it?"

"I'm fine," you replied as you continued to walk on, eyes forward.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

After a long walk, you and Wendy arrived at the cliffs. The first thing you noticed was the same blue van that you saw during the week. Your eyes then settled on the five teenagers laughing and chatting. One of them was holding a white shopping bag filled to the brim with unidentifiable items.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Wendy!" one of them replied, a male with long blond hair.

The group's eyes focused on you and Wendy as you neared the troupe.

"Guys, this (Name)," Wendy introduced you with a smile as the group looked at you with welcoming smiles and the guy with the tattoos gave you a wave. "(Name), this is Lee," the guy with the long blond hair gave you a nod. "This is Nate," the guy with the green and white hat grinned. "Then there's Tambry and Robbie," the guy with the black hair gave a nonchalant wave while his other arm was around the girl with the plum hair's shoulder. You immediately picked up on the body language cue that they were dating. The purple haired girl gave you a quick wave without looking up from her phone. "Then lastly there's Thompson, who agreed to let us spray paint his entire body!"

The chubby guy let out a sad sigh as if he had already accepted his fate.

You went over the names and faces in your head, determined to remember them.

_'Okay, so Lee, Nate, Robbie, Tambry and Thompson. Not so hard, let's hope I don't forget anyone's name...'_

"So guys what did you bring?" Wendy grinned as she looked toward the white shopping bag in Nate's hand.

"We got some spray paint from the hardware store, and then we stopped at the supermarket to get some snacks and alcohol! Check it out!" the guy grinned as he put the bag on the ground for Wendy to look inside and rake through.

"Dude, you got Very Manly Beer, what is wrong with you?" the red-haired girl laughed as she held up an eight pack of beer. You viewed the packaging from where you stood, which wasn't too far. "Ew, my dad drinks this stuff, it smells like body odor!"

_VERY MANLY BEER!_

_If you don't grow a chest hair, you get your money back!_

You cringed at the last part and looked inside the bag for anything else. You weren't too keen on beer due to its bitter taste, and you didn't trust the label about growing a chest hair. Maybe they had bought some vodka, some wine or a nice pre-mixed cocktail?

"Hey (Name), I forgot to ask, you drink right?"

"Yeah 'course!" you replied as you dug through the bag.

"Sweet! Well, it looks like we've got a good selection here. Got some great snacks too!"

You raked around and pulled out a pre-mixed cocktail bottle. The bottle read 'Miss. Caesar's Premium Pre-Mixed Cocktail: Strawberry and Lime.' Your eyes lit up at the pink liquid and decided to hang onto that bottle.

"Uh, guys, I don't think we should be...y'know...drinking 'nd...stuff..."

The group's eyes and yours all fixed on Thompson as he nervously stated his opinion. There were a few short moments of silence before everyone spoke up.

"Boooo!" Nate yelled.

"What a buzzkill..." Robbie commented.

"Y'know Thompson, you don't have to be here if this bothers you..." Wendy implied as Thompson's face immediately twisted into one of despair.

"No no! I want to be here with you guys! Just don't...just don't—"

"Yo guys, we have neon paint!" Robbie interrupted with a grin, holding up five cans of neon pink, neon green, neon yellow, neon blue (or rather cyan) and neon orange spray paint.

"Oh, hell yeah! Thompson get over here!" Lee hollered with a wide smirk as Robbie tossed him the neon orange spray paint.

"U-Uh, okay..." he replied as he shuffled over to Lee before he was hit in the chest with neon orange spray paint.

The rest of the group laughed as Thompson flinched. Everyone else grabbed other cans of paint. Robbie offered some cans to you, and you took the neon green paint with a smirk of your own. You joined in with tormenting the chubby brunette, spraying his back with neon green paint while Wendy sprayed him with pink, Tambry sprayed him with cyan, Nate sprayed him with red, Lee sprayed with neon orange, and Robbie spray painted him with neon yellow.

For the next fifteen minutes, the six of you chased Thompson around with spray paint while alternating colors now and then. By the end of it, Thompson looked like he had just vomited a rainbow.

After all the excitement, your lungs hurt from laughing so much. You sat down on a slope of grass to catch your breath and regain some energy. You grabbed the cocktail mix that you were eyeing up earlier and opened the cap, in dire need of a drink.

You shamelessly started gulping it down, similar to how Tambry was taking gulps from one of the vodka bottles.

"Hey, can I have some of that?"

You looked up to see Nate sit down beside you with a smile. You pulled the bottle away from your lips with a nod as you swallowed your last gulp.

You handed him the bottle, "Sure, but you may want to wipe it fir-"

Nate ignored your words and started gulping it down as you immediately cut yourself off. You watched him take about seven massive gulps before he pulled the bottle away from his lips. A surprised laugh escaped your lips as you watched him grin after chugging down way more than you did.

"You seem thirsty," you commented with a smile.

He smirked, "Yeah this is my favorite cocktail brand. Lee and the guys always make fun of me for liking a 'lady's drink.'"

"There's nothing wrong about liking cocktails. Don't listen to them," you smiled.

A few short moments of silence pass between the two of you before Nate speaks up.

"So I hear you're here for the summer?" he asks a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm staying here with my cousin before I return home to Florida."

"Florida huh? I've always wanted to go on holiday there! Where about do you live?"

"Orlando."

"Nice! I've wanted to visit there and Miami!"

"Oh Miami's great, you should definitely go there. Though I'd beware, stuff there is super expensive since it's such a popular tourist attraction."

"Have you ever been there?"

"Of course! I've been there to see a few concerts and to enjoy Miami Beach in the summer."

"Awesome! Hey, if I ever go on holiday there, I'll pay you a visit!"

"Go ahead," you smiled as you took another gulp of the cocktail. Although it wasn't very strong, you could still feel the subtle burn of the vodka as it traveled down your throat.

"Hey Nate, stop flirting!" Lee yelled as a tint of pink appeared on Nate's cheeks. You awkwardly laughed as you watched Nate glare at his blond companion.

"Dude, shut up!" Nate replied as he took a short glance at you before returning to glare daggers at Lee.

"I'm flattered Nate," you lightly teased with a coy smirk as Nate quickly snapped his head toward you, his blush increasing. Lee just laughed as he watched the scene between the two of you like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"(Name) you want to come with me to spraypaint the cliffs up there?" Wendy asked as she jogged over with a bottle of wine and some spray paint cans.

"Sure!" you grinned as you got up from your seated position and started following Wendy. However, you briefly turned back and sent Nate a sweet, yet flirtatious smile which he bashfully returned.

"So how do you like my friends, dude?"

"I like them."

"That's good since they seem to like you as well. But you know, I think Nate may be interested in you," she smirked as she raised an eyebrow.

Your response was a soft giggle before you changed the subject, "So which cliffs are we spray painting?"

"The ones up ahead. There's this other group of teenagers who have kicked us out of our usual spot in town since we didn't 'mark our territory.' To be honest, I like is area much more, so I suggested that we let everyone know that this is our spot.

"So, in other words, you're a teenage gang? And you have a rival teenage gang?"

"I guess so. And don't tell the others this, but I don't think we're anywhere near as hardcore as they want to believe."

You snorted and suddenly broke into a fit of giggles, "You're probably right!"

You and Wendy made your way up to the higher cliffs, conversing on your way there. You both eventually got up there, and Wendy began to spray paint. Wendy started to draw a logo with the red paint while you stood there, contemplating what to draw.

"Is that you're group's logo?" you questioned.

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid, but that's because Robbie came up with it."

The logo was a slightly edgy looking drawing of a spray paint can with a knife and an 'X' under it. You looked at the abomination of a logo with distaste but soon looked back at the stone cliff.

"Do you want some wine?" Wendy asked, holding out the bottle.

"Yeah," you replied, taking it. The cocktail you drank earlier had little to no effect on you so you figured you could manage some wine before you got totally drunk. You took a sip after unscrewing the cap before looking at the wall in front of you.

"You don't know what to write?"

"Not really, nothing comes to mind."

"I think you're overthinking this dude. Just go wild!"

You looked back at the stone wall and shrugged to yourself before rattling the can and drawing some pictures rather than words. You started off drawing some generic hearts, silly faces and other simple doodles that you would usually draw in the corner of your Economics book. This continued for a while as you quickly lost touch with reality and let your mind wander back to your school.

You thought how you broke up for summer a week early. You wondered how much work you would have to catch up on and how angry Charlotte and the rest of your friends would be when they found out you left the state for 10 weeks without saying goodbye and without any warning. Obviously, they wouldn't care about what you were doing too much (besides the occasional jealousy) since they were too invested in their own silly lives to worry about yours. Each of them were arrogant narcissists with Charlotte taking the top spot. However, even though they cared too much about themselves to worry too much about other people, they did care about always being in the loop, regardless of how much it affected them or whether they actually cared or not. If you denied them info about every aspect of your personal life, there would be trouble. It didn't matter if it had anything to do with them or not, if they weren't kept updated, expect to be shunned or subjected to passive-aggressive comments.

You wanted to laugh at how you had been roped into a group of friends like that. It was even more laughable how they had begun to rub off on you. You wondered that by the end of next year you would be exactly like them, or even worse. The thought wasn't as far fetched as it initially sounded. Although you considered yourself to be above them, you weren't too far from becoming exactly like them. The thought was scary, but you were worried that it was an inevitable fate since you were already over halfway there.

You weren't looking forward to going back to school. Although you only had to survive one more year, you still had to get through your final exams and cope with more petty social drama. Speaking of going back, you remembered that you had homework. Great. Though, you decided you would do it some other week. You had just begun your holiday; no way were you going to worry about school so early on!

You took another gulp of the wine and turned away from the wall to look out at the forest. You sat down near the edge with the bottle and gazed out at the view. Although it was dark, the wood was still beautiful at night, and you could see the tiny dots of light from the town.

You were unable to fight the silly grin that had made its way onto your face. You were beginning to feel quite tipsy from the wine and no doubt the cocktail may have influenced your state although you didn't feel anything at first. Your body felt lighter, and a few soft giggles escaped your lips as you softly swayed from side to side.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Wendy look at you with a puzzled expression, but you ignored it. Though, soon enough her attention was stolen by something else.

You carried on looking out at the view with your dopey grin as you viewed the tops of the pine trees and the high cliffs. You hummed a faint tune from a song that you remembered from your childhood. Your dad would usually sing it when he was happy or cooking in the kitchen. You didn't remember many of the lyrics or the name of it, but you knew it was an old jazz song from the late 1930s.

"Interesting art here, dude."

You glanced behind to see Wendy viewing your doodles. Her eyes scanned your array of doodles. Your grin widened.

"Yeah, you like them?"

"What is it?"

"Some doodles mostly, but once you put them all together in close proximity, they can become something more worthy of a second glance."

The small images had been drawn together within a close distance of one another in a triangular shape. The doodles ranged from yellow hearts to gold crowns, to fire to ravens, to storm clouds to skulls, to the sun to a cactus, to many more images and symbols combining to make a larger picture. If it wasn't rushed and if more care was put into it, it could probably pass for street art.

"I like it."

"Thanks."

"We should probably head back now. I wonder if the others are now as drunk as you are," Wendy smirked at you as you loudly chortled as if what she said was the funniest joke in the world. You wouldn't have had the same reaction if you were sober, but you were getting more drunk with each sip, so everything seemed absolutely hilarious to you.

You followed Wendy down the cliff, giggling all the way. Due to your drunk state, Wendy had to hold you so you couldn't topple sideways off the side of the cliff and fall to your impending doom.

When you and Wendy returned back to the group, they were listening to Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship. You wobbled over to the bag with the empty bottle before you legs gave out and you landed on your bottom. A string of laughs escaped your lips before you started digging around in the bag.

"Dude, you drank the rest of that bottle, you may want to slow down before you're sick or pass out."

"Oh, I'll be fine! No one is better—" you hiccuped, "—at withstanding alcohol like me! I'm the most heavyweight person I know!"

Wendy looked around at the others. Tambry and Robbie were silently sharing a cigarette while Lee and Nate were drunkenly cheering on Thompson as he chugged a large bottle of beer. His cheeks were red and bloated like a fish out of water, and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He certainly did not look happy, but he seemed to be trying to act tough in front of Nate and Lee to earn their recognition.

Wendy couldn't tell whether you were the soberest or any of the others. You looked like you were about to go do something stupid while the others looked they weren't acting stupid enough. Wendy couldn't count herself since she hadn't had nearly as much as you did. She was surprised by how you were withstanding the alcohol. She had drunk less than a quarter of the wine bottle, and you had swallowed the rest on top of the cocktail mix, and now you were asking for more? You were still able to walk (despite being a bit wobbly), and you could still think straight (though just barely) even though you were laughing like a hyena. You had obviously done this before despite your slightly misleading personality and demeanor.

You rummaged through the bag until you found a small bottle of vodka, some gummy worms, and some water. You grabbed both bottles and the packet and turned to Wendy.

"I'll take a break and drink some of this water for a few minutes before continuing."

"Probably the best idea. You may be a heavyweight, but your liver can only withstand so much."

"It's nice to know you care!" you grinned as you suddenly enveloped the freckled girl in a hug. Wendy was caught off guard from the very random show of platonic affection but accepted it nonetheless.

You quickly let her go before walking back over to the slope to drink your water and eat the packet or gummy worms.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You stayed out until one o'clock. You had a lot of fun messing about with Lee and Nate. But by that point, you were very drunk and exhausted. You bid your goodbye to the others and made your way home, heading in the direction of Noah's cabin after you had put the destination into Goodle maps on your phone.

You stumbled through the forest. Somehow, now you were drunk, the forest didn't look nearly as bad as it did before. You were pretty sure something with glowing yellow eyes was watching you from amongst the trees but you just drunkenly waved at it.

"Excuse me!"

You stopped and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice came from.

"Huuuuuhhhh?" you slurred as you glanced around.

"Down here!"

You looked to your left and saw a small gnome standing on a rock. He was brunette with a brown beard and wore a red pointed hat with a baby blue shirt, some steel blue overalls and a pair of little brown shoes. You blinked, looking down at the small man.

"Huh...?"

"You're the girl in the red truck ain'tcha?"

"Red...truck...?" you muttered scanning your brain for a proper answer. Due to the alcohol, your brain was running a much slower pace than usual. "Oh, yeah."

"Though so. Well, the guys sent me to formally thank you for—"

"Are you a gnome?" you dumbly questioned as you crouched down, reaching out to poke the guy's red hat.

"Wha— hey!" he yelled as he stepped back from your hand as you poked his hat to see if it was pottery. "Yes, I am."

"Huh..." you muttered, retracting your hand.

You must have drunk more than you thought. Now you were hallucinating about little living garden gnomes. You needed to get to bed right now before you start seeing talking unicorns or something.

"Uh, you okay lady?"

"Hm? Oh yes, I'm fine! Just a bit drunk," you flashed the gnome a grin as he adjusted his hat with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that explains it. Anyway, as I was saying, thanks for moving that log for us yesterday, it was a huge help! A fox destroyed a large part of our village so the guys and I had to haul that thing all the way from the other side of the forest so we could make some new houses out of it. We always get anxious when we have to cross roads, so you moving it across for us really took a load off! Not only that, not long after you left, a guy who was driving at an unbelievable speed went racing down the road that we had just crossed. If it wasn't for you we'd all be flattened vulture food! We once lost this guy called Ted to a car. Poor guy became instant roadkill, and everyone's been terrified of vehicles ever since. So! Thank you again, miss!"

"Uh, you're welcome?" you replied after the gnome had finished his rambling monologue. You weren't too sure what you did, but it seemed as if you had done something good.

"So, how do you feel about becoming our queen?" he suddenly announced with a grin.

"...Say what?"

"Don't worry darling; we'll all take care of you! Think of it as our thank you gift!"

"I'm good thanks," you replied with a look of mild disgust as you stood up properly and took a step back.

"Aw, come on! We're desperate! Please?"

"Thanks but no thanks."

"We'll even throw in a genuine magical crystal ring!"

You hesitated for a second. Tempting, but you weren't willing to marry a gnome for a piece of jewelry....probably.

You silently started walking away from the gnome, leaving him behind.

"U-Uh, okay then, I'll give you some time to think about it, yeah? I'll be in touch! You can reach me through the raven post! You know just...write me a letter in parchment and give it to a raven to deliver...or any other bird I guess...just not woodpeckers. Name's Jeff if you're wondering! If you...y'know...don't know who to send the letter to..."

You didn't respond to him as you just kept on walking. His voice faded as you created more distance between you and the gnome until you were out of his sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines Day! ❤️ Since we're all sad and alone, here is the next chapter for you to read while we all sit at home with a tub of ice-cream and reminisce how we have gone another year without a boyfriend! At least, that's what I'll probably be doing, Ben and Jerry's at the ready! But hey, I promise you it's pure chance that this chapter has been posted today! (Or maybe it was it fate?)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and please excuse any possible minor errors! I do proofread these, I swear! I plan to get around to reading through previous chapters to correct some mistakes and do some extra proofreading. If anyone's interested in becoming a beta reader, then please let me know! I'd be happy to have the help! 
> 
> Sorry, this chapter was late, January was a bit of busy month for me, but hey, it's here at last! I'll try to be prompt with Chapter 9! Check out my DeviantART status posts for updates on the production of each chapter, just follow the link in the A/N to be taken to my DeviantART page, I go by the same name on there!
> 
> Until next month, nerds!


	11. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 9: Robot ▲

** Arrival Arc: Robot **

* * *

"I'm back!" you hollered as you finally pushed the door open after five minutes of just trying to shove the key through the hole with your drunken state. You checked your watch to see that it was nearly two in the morning.

You didn't get an answer as you stumbled into the hallway; however, you saw your cousin exit the kitchen with a big grin on his face.

"Oh, so you're up?" you grumbled as you kicked off your shoes, leaning on the wall for support.

"Been up for hours, toots!"

"Stop that."

"Hm?"

"'Toots.'"

Noah laughed before looking you up and down.

"Where were you?"

"Out with Wendy and her friends. I left you a note, stupid!"

Noah just hummed as he crossed the hallway, about to enter the living room with his arms full of random junk. You looked at the array of items he was holding with a frown. In his arms was a whole packet of uncooked waffles, a Pitt Cola, some pop tarts, a raw cabbage, unskinned raw potatoes, a bag of potato chips, some candy and...was that a bottle of bleach?

"Hey, you don't have to eat all of that junk. There are steak leftovers in the fridge and stuff..." you informed him as you followed him in and leaning on the wall for support.

Noah ignored you as he sat down and dumped everything on the sofa beside him before eagerly picking up the raw cabbage and taking a giant bite out of it before you could do anything to stop him.

_'Nice to know my hard work is going to waste.'_

"Anyway, I've meant to ask you, are you alright?"

"Never better!"

"It's just that you've been acting all like...strange and...stuff. I know you, and you're acting like you're a completely different person...you dick..." you didn't mean to sound so drunk and add that last bit to your statement, but it seemed as if the alcohol was speaking for you and was causing you to go from giggly and happy to moody and rude.

You had recently been contemplating whether Noah had some sort of personality disorder. To your knowledge, Noah had no experiences of trauma or anything that would trigger such a severe mental illness. You had done some digging on the internet, but you weren't too sure if any of the ones you had read about fully applied to Noah's case. You would possibly believe it was all an act, but Noah was one of the most serious people you knew and would not get amused by pulling something like that. And for what other reason could he be putting it on for? The idea just didn't make sense.

Noah just silently grinned at you until you let out a sigh. You couldn't be bothered to start thinking so hard. You were drunk and tired and just recalling memories and thinking of the right thing to say was exhausting enough. In fact, just standing up was hard. You needed sleep and rest.

You walked over to Noah and picked up the bottle of bleach, raw potatoes and packet of uncooked waffles and exited the living room. You would have taken the raw cabbage as well, but since Noah had taken a massive bite out of it, you decided it wasn't worth bringing it back to the fridge.

"I'm...not going to bother asking what you were planning to do with this bottle of bleach, but for my sake can you _please_ avoid drinking the bottles under the sink?" you shot the grinning brunette the best glare you could muster through your slightly hazy vision as you neared the door.

"Oh, by the way, before you go, what's inside the human body?"

You turned around with a questioning glance, "You tell me, you're the one who got A+'s in biology back in high school."

"This stuff goes from your mind over the years."

You raised an eyebrow at his response but decided to answer his question anyway.

"Well, there's the spine and ribs, the liver, the lungs, the stomach, the heart, the...uh...pancreas...the intestines...and the uhh...um...thyroid...and the..." you tried to search your brain but it was hard to think, "actually, ask me about this some other day or go look it up on the internet. I'm shit-faced drunk, and I'm way too tired for a biology quiz! Night."

You heard Noah ask you one more thing, but it fell on deaf ears as you exited the room. Ignoring the brunette's voice, you closed the door behind you and walked into the kitchen, barely able to keep your eyes open.

You put the food (and the bleach) back in the kitchen before you stumbled out of the room and crawled up the stairs. Though, you were pretty sure you put the waffles in the cutlery draw and the bleach in the fridge.

Once you reached the bathroom, you removed your makeup and chugged down a glass of water to help with the alcohol. You then exited the bathroom after cleaning your face, too fatigued to bother with a shower.

Once you got back into your room, you suddenly tripped over something. You fell flat on your face with a groan before picking yourself up and looking to see what you tripped over, through your now very hazy vision.

 _'What is this doing...ugh, nevermind...'_ you thought as you grabbed the book with the golden handprint and dismissively dumped it on the vanity desk before stripping out of your clothes to get changed, not bothering to rummage through your suitcase to find some fresh pajamas, and instead decided to sleep in your underwear.

Once you flopped onto your bed, you tossed the covers over yourself as you lied on your stomach. You instantly shut your eyes, and within a minute you had fallen asleep with your mouth unattractively hanging open, as loud snores left your throat.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You woke up to find a small wet patch on your pillow, near your mouth. You lifted your head and wiped the drool from your lips.

You groggily opened your eyes, but immediately shut them again when you noticed that you forgot to close the curtains that night, so now your bedroom was filled with bright daylight.

You groaned and let your head fall back onto the pillow, wishing it was still nighttime. You felt like absolute shit, and the sunrays certainly weren't helping with the photophobia. You pulled the sheets over your face, shrowding yourself in darkness. You had no idea what time it was, but it certainly was well into the morning.

You had trouble getting back to sleep with the agonising migraine keeping you up. Your eyes strung and the thought of getting up made you wish that you had died in your sleep that night.

You heard thumping go down the stairs. You wanted to yell at Noah for his elephant footsteps making your head spin and ache. Though, you were in far too much pain to even bother with a whisper.

You spent the next hour in bed just grumpily lying there until you fell back asleep for another hour. After you woke up, you felt like you gained a bit more energy and decided to get up since you felt hungry. Your memories of the previous night were limited, and you were sure they would come back eventually, but you certainly didn't recall having any dinner last night.

After putting on some shorts and a T-shirt, you went downstairs to the kitchen to grab some food. You settled for some apple juice and some fruit before you made your way over to the living room, switching the lights off on your way.

When you entered the room, you saw Noah cleaning the place up. You remembered how the living room was a tip due to the endless amount of books scattered across the floor, along with sheets of paper and ball-point pens cluttering the place.

"Good morning," he said as he gathered up a few books and placed them back on the shelf.

You greeted him with a soft groan as you trudged over to the couch. Noah turned to you and scanned you up and down with a critical gaze, "What's up with you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" you huffed.

"Are you ill?"

"Huh? No. I told you last night, I went out with Wendy and her friends," you replied as you lay horizontally on the couch. The room was spinning, your muscles hurt and just even thinking about your aching head was painful in itself.

"Did you?" he asked with a blank expression before it quickly vanished. "Oh wait, never mind, I remember..." Noah then quickly turned back around after correcting himself and began to collect more books. You briefly frowned as his word sunk in. Why did he lie? Did he seriously not remember?

"Are you hungover?"

"Yeah."

He sighed, "Wait here."

You watched Noah quickly place the books on the shelf before sauntering out of the room. A minute passed until he entered the room with a glass of water and some pain killers.

"Make sure you keep hydrated, and take two of these. No doubt you feel pretty shitty right now," he handed you the glass and the box of pills.

You looked at the glass with suspicion, "This isn't tap water, is it?"

Noah clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes in annoyance, "No."

After eyeing him to make sure he wasn't lying, you sat up and drank the water and swallowed the two pills with it. You placed the water back down and rubbed your head.

"Keep drinking water for the rest of the day, okay?"

"Yeah..." you murmured as your rubbed your aching temples.

"What did you think of Wendy's friends?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"They were nice, kind of wild but that's more my speed anyway..."

"Yeah, I knew you would like them."

Silence then followed as Noah continued to clean the living room while you focused most of your attention on your migraine and nausea. Though, you soon found your mind wandering to the previous night.

You remembered the trip back to the cabin and how you thought you saw a gnome and some other apparitions in the forest. Though, you didn't recall taking any other substances apart from alcohol, and you had never experienced any form of hallucinations when you had drunk before (and neither did anyone else you knew). Was a short-term alcohol-induced psychosis even possible? In the event it was, then you certainly didn't believe it was common. So what on earth happened? Did someone put some shady substances in the drinks? You made a mental note to ask Wendy if she experienced the same thing or if she knew that any of her friends did.

Your mind then began to wander again until you recalled the conversation that you and Noah had the previous night. You remembered not getting a straight answer out of him when you inquired about how he had been acting for the past week. But now he was acting like his usual self, perhaps you would have better luck?

"Hey, Noah..."

"What?"

"Don't take this the wrong way but..." you bit your lip, "I'm getting kind of concerned about you..."

" _What_?" he asked, spinning around looking at you with an offended glare.

"I just said not to take it the wrong way!" you quickly restored as you quickly sat up, instantly regretting it as you felt sudden dizziness, watching the room briefly spin. "I-I just mean that you have been acting really odd late at night, you've been really irritable and grumpy since you went to the hospital and you've been staying up late every night. But in all honesty, I'm mostly worried by your complete personality switch in the evenings."

" _Personality switch_?"

"...Yeah."

Noah silently stared at you for a few moments, "What have I been doing?"

"There! Right there! You don't even remember! I'm just concerned about you, okay? You've been acting really strange, and you're always making a mess and...and...and you've been calling me 'toots'!"

You saw Noah cringe for a second before his glare returned and he folded his arms, "There's nothing wrong me. Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong. I don't care if you think I have a personality disorder or that I'm just flat out insane, just don't come up to me playing the concerned relative! I know what you're like. You wouldn't give two shits whether I'm rotting in the psych ward or dying of cancer! All you could possibly care about is making sure that I don't cause you trouble in any way! I bet you're only asking this so you can turn it into some excuse so you can go home! 'Oh! Better make sure no one finds out about my cousin that I have dubbed as insane! Can't have that now, _can we_?'"

"Hey! Shut the hell up and stop assuming things about me—"

"Oh, but it's not assuming now, is it? Not really! You're just concerned about defending yourself because I'm the only one brave enough to admit that Little Miss. 'I'm So Rich and Perfect,' isn't so _perfect_! All you do is sit in your little palace in Florida and rely on daddy to hand everything over to you, while the rest of us live in the adult world where we all struggle to pay for things such as mortgages, car insurance, water bills, electricity bills, and God knows, much, much more! So I would really appreciate it if you stop living in an patriotic click-flick and wake the hell up!"

You hesitated and silently glared at him for a few moments. Where this was coming from, you had no idea. Everyone knew that Noah had a firey and assertive side, but you still didn't understand how the conversation had gone from asking him about his health to your general lifestyle. You wanted to say you were in no mood to argue, but you had some pent up anger.

"Who are you to talk?" your voice was calm, but your eyes told a different story. "What the hell do you know about me? You cut everyone off—bar my mom—and fucked off to Oregon with your bitch of a girlfriend! This is the first time we've seen each other in seven years so how is it you're now such an _expert_ on me?"

"Well, your mom has said enough about you. Even _she_ thinks you've grown into a spoilt brat! If you're at all smart, one day you'll wake up and realize how embarrassing it must be to always have someone else do things for you! And that day you'll also realize that you're lacking the basic skills to function like a normal human being! So, you wonder why I don't accept any of your father's charity; it's because I don't want to turn out like _you_!"

You fell deathly silent as you stared at the young man in front of you. He softly panted from all the screaming he was doing as his eyes were tainted with a resentful venom.

You honestly didn't know what to think, let alone say. This wasn't the Noah you remembered. The two of rarely got along in early life due to your massive personality clash. The two of you would always fight and argue and you always dreaded it when he came over to your house or when you would have to go over to his. But, not once had the both you ever argued like you were now, the two of you had never said anything personal enough to sorely hurt the other. Teenage Noah wouldn't have said the things that he had just said, since he hated showing strong emotion, regardless of whether it was happiness or sorrow. You always thought that he would one day turn out to be no different than a robot, devoid of feelings and passion.

It seemed as if Noah _had_ changed after all, even though the changes didn't show themselves at first.

Your mouth stayed closed as you looked away and walked to the door. Your cousin watched you leave as your eyes remained glued to the floor. You exited the living room and headed straight for your room. Upon entering, you locked the door and laid down on the bed.

As soon as you shut your eyes, you felt a strong nausea build up in your stomach, but you weren't sure if that was due to your hangover or the recent argument that just took place.

You once again found yourself hearing Noah's words ringing in your head, and they were less than welcome.

_"You wouldn't give two shits whether I'm rotting in the psych ward or dying of cancer!"_

_"All you do is sit in your little palace in Florida and rely on daddy to hand everything over to you..."_

_"If you're at all smart, one day you'll wake up and realize how embarrassing it must be to always have someone else do things for you!"_

_"...You wonder why I don't accept any of your father's charity; it's because I don't want to turn out like you!"_

You felt your eyes sting as tears began to build up. Though, you refused to let even one tear fall. You wouldn't cry and let yourself become a overgrown crybaby. Crying meant that his words actually held meaning. Crying meant that he won. Crying meant that you were weak enough to let your emotions get the better of you.

Crying meant you weren't fit for your allegorical crown.

You angrily blinked back the tears until they were gone, pretending they were never there in the first place. It had been a long time since you had you fight your emotions. Did this mean that your emotional state was saturated? Either way, you weren't transparent enough to let yourself cry like a child. This was the only way to prove to yourself that you were strong.

So who's the robot now?

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"It's nice to know that you're not dead," you joked.

"It's been a busy week. I've finally got a chance to sit down and relax," Alec half smiled as he took a sip of his Papsi.

"Yeah, by the way, where are you? You said you were going on holiday, but you never told me where."

"I'm in Eygpt."

"Egypt?" you questioned before suddenly remembering that some of Alec's distant relatives were Egyptian.

"Yeah, my mom and dad have just divorced, and this is my mom's sudden getaway to ignore the depression of the now broken marriage," he shrugged.

"Oh, Jesus Alec, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Must have slipped my mind I guess," he shrugged.

 _'Wow Alec, I think you're the only one in the world who could forget about his parents' divorce...'_ you thought with a sweatdrop.

"Anyway, Egypt sounds fun!"

"It's alright I guess. Quite hot but I'm enjoying the culture and the tourist landmarks."

"Smoked any hookahs yet?"

"Uh-huh. My uncle lives here, and he made me and my sister try it, though I can't say my mom was very impressed..."

You giggled, "Her son and daughter are smoking right in front of her; I wouldn't be either!"

"You've smoked!"

"Yeah, but I don't do it in front of my family! And besides, you know I don't really do it anymore. Unlike you, I don't want to reach twenty-five and look twice my age!" you joked.

"Touché..." he softly smirked as he took another sip of his drink, "So how's Los Angeles?"

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm not actually there..." you sighed. You decided to tell Alec the truth; he was the only person you knew who would keep it a secret and not judge you.

"Then where are you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm in Oregon, in some off-the-map town called Gravity Falls."

"Never heard of it."

"Yeah, I would have been very shocked if you had," you smirked.

"So why are you there and not in LA?"

"My dad made a last-minute cancel, surprise, surprise. So he organized for me to stay here with my cousin..."

"You don't sound too happy about that..."

"You think? Fair enough, this place isn't as bad as I imagined it to be, but it's far from great. I mean, look at my room!" you flipped the Skipe camera to show Alec your surroundings. His face twisted into a look of disdain at the sight of the dreadful floral walls and abhorrent floral bed.

"Damn..."

"This room is currently the bane of my existence. This floral...it's not even nice floral, it's just _heinous_..." you groaned as you viewed your surroundings. "Anyway, I've made some friends here. They actually seem kind of nice, and I went spray painting with them last night but I came home drunk, and now I have a hangover."

"What does your cousin say to that?"

"Seemed almost nonchalant but the guy's acting like a proper nutcase. I tried asking him if he's okay, but he just started having a go at me. God, and I even drove to some place in Oregon for him and went through all that trouble to get that fucking book of his that he has had his heart so dead set on! In fact, I don't even think I've ever seen him _read_ it! It's just sitting over there on my vanity collecting dust! God, I wish I never even went now..."

"What book are you even going on about?" he asked, confused.

You let out a sigh, "This one."

You got up to fetch the book from your vanity, came back to your bed and held the book up in the view of your laptop camera. Alec raised an eyebrow as you flipped it around so you could view the front.

Out of curiosity, you opened it to the first page and viewed a note from Oregon Parks Department. You read the note as it briefly explained a bit of the book's context. However, the note sounded so silly you couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

You then turned to the next page. A white piece of paper was stuck to it with cursive writing on the front written in black ink. The note read 'Property of', but the bottom bit of the note was ripped out. You rolled your eyes and looked at the next page. It read simply had 'Vol. 3' and 'Ad astra per aspera!' written in the same handwriting.

You continued to flip to the next page and curiously read the journal entry from June 18.

You felt your interest peak as the book mention Gravity Falls. You now understood the possible connection between Noah and the book; it seemed to focus on the topic of the town and general area. Though, you would be lying if you said you weren't confused about the rest of it.

Resting between the pages was a unsealed envelope with 'Reader' written across the front in a different non-cursive handwriting and blue ink. Unlike the book, the letter didn't look so old and instead looked relatively new. You curiously opened the envelope and pulled out a folded letter. You unfolded it and read the words on the page.

* * *

_Dear reader,_

_̶G̶r̶e̶e̶t̶i̶n̶g̶s̶!̶_

_̶Y̶o̶!̶_

_̶S̶u̶p̶?̶_

_Hi there! Thank you for picking up this book! What you have in your_ _h̶a̶n̶d̶_ _s possession is one of three journals written by my great uncle (or one of them). It is filled with many weird and wondrous creatures that your mind can barely comprehend. And want to know the best part? They're all real! And this, is where your journey into the world of weirdness begins! You're very lucky to have picked up this journal in particular since this was the one that got me started on my adventure. I guess you can say I have an emotional attachment to Journal 3 since I had it on me for the majority of the summer._

_In this book you will learn about me, my family, our adventures, Gravity Falls, Oregon and the amazing creatures that inhabit it! I'll be honest, I'm very curious to know where this book has ended up. We threw each of them into the bottomless pit not knowing where on earth (or not on earth) they would end up. (See the last page for details.) If we ever do meet, please tell me where you found this!_

**_Be warned:_ ** _this book is filled with logs on yet amazing and unusual but dangerous creatures and objects that could cause a lot of trouble if not handled with care and by someone willing to heed the warnings. If that sits right with you, then my great uncle says "go wild!"_

_You would be surprised what has happened to this book over the summer, but you can read all about it in the later pages! Me and my sister have had a lot of good adventures and we hope to have many more until we're my great uncles' age! Maybe with this journal you can have one your own. And if you're not in Gravity Falls yet, what are you still doing here?! Go get on a plane and pay us a visit right now!  
_

_The future awaits you, reader!_

_\- Dipper Pines_

* * *

"What's in it?" Alec asked as he viewed your confused expression. You briefly glanced back up at him before placing the letter to the side, bringing your eyes back to the book page. You didn't know what to think exactly, so you flipped to the next page, skimmed it, and moved on to the next one.

"I don't know, it seems to be some sort of field journal, but it's filled with all these mythical creatures from ghosts to zombies to cursed doors to...I don't know...some other things that I honestly couldn't make up even if I tried..." you sighed as you continued to flick through the pages but you couldn't help but notice that some of them were ripped out. "The thing seems like it was written by a slightly conceited madman, I honestly don't know what to think. Seems like a load of gibberish to me..." you commented as you briefly skimmed the 'Myself' page, with the author explaining how he was born a prodigy.

You then shut the book when you finally reached a random page about a muse and a weirdness dimension. You decided not to flick any further than that, not wishing to look at another page for the time being. Despite how silly it looked, reading it could possibly be an interesting pass time if you ever got bored.

"Damn, okay then...your cousin really wanted that?" Alec questioned with a concerned expression.

"Perfect book for a nutcase... you shrugged before eventually sighing after briefly reflecting upon your recent words. "No, I shouldn't be calling him that. I think there may be something serious going on and calling him that is offensive to his condition but...argh! What he said earlier was _not_ okay! I'm livid right now, and I'm sorry for having to vent to you like this, but I just can't help it..."

Alec waved you off as you let out a sigh.

"Did the two of you have an argument?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. The guy has been acting like a complete jackass lately, but when I asked him if something was going on, he snapped at me, and then it escalated from there..."

"Just take some time to cool off before you go see him again. Maybe he'll be more reasonable later?"

"Maybe."

_"Alec, dinner's ready!"_

"Dinner time already?" you smirked.

"It's just gone nine o'clock over here. What time is it where you are?"

"Jesus, you're having you're dinner late!" you commented as Alec shrugged saying that it had been a busy day. "And it's just gone noon over here."

"Well, enjoy your hangover. I'll text you when I'm free again, see ya!"

"Bye!" you smiled as the window closed.

You a soft sigh slipped through your lips as you placed both your laptop and the book on the floor. You laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

It had only just gone noon, and you were already bored. You didn't dare go downstairs to see Noah again. Obviously, you couldn't avoid him forever, but you refused to even look at him right now.

Another sigh left your lips as you turned onto your side and closed your eyes.

For about twenty minutes you just lay there with your eyes closed, listening to the birds softly chirp outside. Eventually, your body began to lose consciousness slowly.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"(Name)!"

"Mmmm..."

"(Name)!"

"Huh?"

Your eyes snapped open and were immediately blinded by a bright light. You quickly closed your eyes again, feeling your eyes sting.

"(Name) open your eyes; we don't have much time."

You opened your eyes and let the silver blind you. You sat up and observed the area around you. The bright light came from the grey sky above as you shielded your eyes from the bright light. You noticed that you were at a train station, sitting down on the concrete platform. There was no train present, but that was the last thing on your mind.

It took a few moments for you to realize where you were and that you recognized your surroundings. You were at a train station that you had visited once before. You blinked and turned to your left and gazed at the person next to you.

Crouched beside you were Charlotte, looking at you with concern she held your back. You suddenly came to your senses and glared at her as you scooted away from her in disgust.

"What are you doing here? Piss off," you hissed. You felt your veins swell with anger, remembering your text conversation and your general hate for her. You were surprised that she was even looking at you, what was going on?

The blonde sighed and stood up. She placed a hand on her hip and looked down at you like you were a naughty child, "We don't have time for this (Name). You're dreaming again."

You blinked and looked around. Suddenly the real world around you no longer felt so real as you suddenly became aware of your state. You felt a wave of nostalgia and the sensation as the memory of your first lucid dream came back to you. You calmed down as you finally understood what was happening.

You couldn't fully remember what had happened before you went to bed, but you soon found yourself visualizing yourself sleeping away in bed. Though, the task was oddly difficult and gave you a headache.

'Can't feel pain in a dream' your ass.

"So you're just my subconscious again?"

"Correct."

"Why are you taking the form of Charlotte now?" you asked.

"You were thinking of her recently, but if you would prefer, I can change into someone else if it bothers you," she suggested.

You stood up with a sigh, "No, it's fine."

You looked around the train station. You had recognized it since it was a train station in Orlando. This was where you and Charlotte had your first argument back in 9th Grade. You were both on your way to a concert, but you ended up getting into an argument over something that you couldn't remember. You ended up apologizing in the end even though you could vaguely remember that Charlotte was the one who was mostly in the wrong. However, that was long before you realized that Charlotte was an emotional manipulator.

The place looked broken with the whole places in shambles. There was debris scattered on the train tracks and pieces of junk cluttering the platform around you. Though, you attention was quickly stolen by the little specks of white around you. They floated up into the air like dust particles, glistening and sparkling like silver glitter. You looked around, perplexed until your eyes traveled up and met 'Charlotte's.'

"What's going on here?"

"That's exactly what we need to chat about," she replied as she walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down.

You stood up and followed her and looked down at the tracks. On the train tracks were glowing white patches giving off the sparkling white particles that were floating up into the air before disappearing. The white areas looked like missing jigsaw pieces taken from the world around you. The white patches were all different sizes, some big and some small but there was no denying that they seemed to be increasing in size and numbers, as they slowly ate up the floor around them.

"The world around us is breaking."

"It didn't look like this before."

"Things have changed since before, and they're only going to continue changing," she replied as she folded her arms with a melancholy frown.

"Please just give it to me straight," you frustratedly huffed.

"I can't," she despondently sighed.

You sighed, "So give it to me with the most detail you can then."

"Well, this whole area is a visual reflection of your mind. It's begun its demolishment process to make way for phase two."

"Phase two?"

"Yes. Don't be too alarmed by it; this isn't going to make you ill in any way, mentally or physically. In fact, I doubt you'll even feel a thing..."

"So is this a positive thing or not?" you asked with a raised eyebrow. 'Charlotte' remained silent as you let out a sigh. "Right..."

"I'm sorry I can't help you. I guess whether it's good or bad depends on you — what you'll do...how you'll react and..." she paused, "...whether you see the outcome as nice or not."

"Wow, that clears the _whole_ thing up..." you huffed. You hated this cryptic subconscious mind of yours. Fuck the laws; you wanted to know what the hell was going on behind the scenes.

"This is the last time you'll have dreams like this. Like I just said, things are changing. I can't explain it to you. Even if I tried to, I couldn't. You're lucky that we're just even having this conversation at all. But I'm positive this will all become clear in the course of..." she paused before continuing, "well...I'm sure you understand that I'm not at liberty to say."

You remained silent and directed your attention back to the place around you. Looking back at the white patches, you had trouble seeing them as a nice thing. The words used to describe their purpose didn't settle well in your stomach. The whole world looked broken and incomplete and you began to fear the unknown.

"(Name)...you are me, and I am you. I'm just your subconscious mind personified and taking the form of a person in your life, nothing more. I can't tell you everything since the laws simply won't allow it. This world...it's all breaking. Don't jump to conclusions about how this is going affect your waking life. It's getting wiped clean, and it's going to rebuild itself. Think of it as 'renovating'..."

"And I assume you can't tell me why?"

"No."

You sighed, "So what's this about limited time?"

"We're on the clock here and our time has nearly run out. You're going to wake up soon but I thought I should speak with you one last time so I can show you what's happening in here and so you can be a little more aware of what's going on...despite how vague I have to be. A little information is better than none, right?"

"Yeah."

"I can't fully prepare you for what is to come, but I can show you this place one last time before it changes. Next time you dream, this place will look very different."

You remained silent and stared down at the fragments of white. You didn't know how to respond, so you stayed quiet.

"You have to go now..."

You turned to look at the young girl she was sadly smiling at you.

"I don't know why I'm suddenly so scared..." you muttered, looking down.

"It's your fear of the unknown. Emotions are sometimes intensified here but don't worry; I know you'll be fine. You're me, and I am you, and I know that you'll bravely go into this head first," she consoled.

You looked up at the young girl in front of you. Though, you were shocked to see that she had changed form. You were no longer looking at Charlotte and instead you were looking at yourself.

Your subconscious smiled. It was strange to be looking right at yourself. It was as if you were looking into a 3D mirror.

You returned the smile as the place around you darkened slowly turning into a dark void. You felt your vision quickly begin to blur. All you could make out was your blurry silhouette as you slowly felt yourself slipping away.

"Oh and (Name)?"

"Y-Yeah?" you desperately called out as the silhouette disappeared.

"Give him hell!"

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You slowly opened your eyes to be met with the horrible floral wallpaper. You silently sat up and rubbed your eyes as your gaze traveled to your window. You suddenly noticed that Colin was missing. You briefly panicked but then calmed down after you remembered how you gave him to Noah when he was in the hospital. You made a mental note to ask him where he had put him.

The sun was heading west; it would be a few hours until it would be disappearing over the horizon. You wondered how long you had been sleeping for until you checked your phone beside your bed which read '4:37'.

You groggily got out of bed and put on your slippers before exiting the room. You could physically feel your stomach aching with hunger as your dry mouth craved a drink. You could safely say that the nap had eased your hangover a bit, but you still had a horrible feeling in your head and stomach.

As you descend the stairs, all you heard was silence. The door to the living room was shut, and all the lights were turned off in the corridor. You went into the kitchen to get some water for your dry mouth and a snack to pacify your hunger.

You grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and guzzled it down before throwing the bottle away and looking around for something to eat. You eventually settled on a bread roll and some pretzels.

You silently exited the kitchen and scanned the corridor. The silence made you feel strange, so you decided to call out for your cousin.

"Noah?"

You heard a soft clunk come from the dining room. Your eyes immediately snapped to the closed door to your right. You furrowed your eyebrows and curiously opened the door to be met with a surprising sight.

You were shocked to find Noah sitting at the table with a bottle of beer in his left hand. His right hand, however, covered the top half of his face as tears rolled down his cheeks and soft sobs and heavy breaths escaped his mouth. His hair was messy like he had run his hand through it one too many times, and his face was flushed from the crying. Empty bottles lay on the table like fallen soldiers, their sole purpose long been drained from their glass bodies.

You hesitated for a moment, just standing there and watching the man weep. At first, you wanted to laugh. You wanted to laugh at him for getting the karma he deserved for yelling at you earlier. You didn't care what the cause was, you just wanted to revel in his unexpected suffering as he chugged down a bottle of beer. Then your morality kicked in, and you began to feel a bit guilty for thinking like that and began to feel sympathy for him, wondering what had made him so upset. However, before you could say anything, Noah beat you to it.

" _What_?" he spat.

You froze as your cousin moved his hand away from his face to glare at you through his wet puffy eyes. You hesitated and unconsciously glanced away before meeting his gaze again and deciding to brave it.

"Why—"

"Why am I crying? Fuck off will you?" he snapped before he brought the beer bottle to his lips. Your mood did a complete one-eighty as you felt anger and frustration engulf you once again.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" you hissed. "Why are you treating me like I'm shit stuck to the sole of your shoe?"

Noah didn't reply and didn't even spare you a glance as he took another sip of his drink. You felt your vexation peak as you stomped over to him and snatched the bottle right out of his hand. You didn't hesitate to tip the liquid right over his head in the act of petty yet satisfying revenge.

A look of shock passed over the man's face before it quickly melted away into wrath, "What the fucking hell!"

"Oh, don't even start! You've been acting like a complete bastard for the past few days, and I have no idea what I've done! To my understanding, _I'm_ the one who's been taking care of you following your sudden asthma attack and then drove all the way to some _random fucking location_ to get some _random fucking book_ in your stupid, _stupid_ truck! _Excuse me_ for feeling a bit resentful when the one who ordered me to do these things _is so fucking ungrateful_!" you screamed.

Noah silently scowled at you as he wiped his face. His gaze followed you as you strolled over to the other side of the table and sat down. You gladly returned the dirty look until he sighed and turned away as a stray tear rolled down his left cheek.

"Why are you in here crying?" you sighed.

"None of your business."

"I'm not leaving until you start talking."

"Then _I'll_ leave," he declared.

"Then I'll keep bothering you until you snap," you threatened. You were no longer in the mood to take his shit. You were done with his piss poor attitude, and you were determined to get that across to him.

Noah huffed, "You wanna' know what's going on? Okay, fine! I'm _fucking_ depressed and I'm _fucking_ drinking away the pain! Are you happy now?"

"Care to elaborate?" you questioned as you folded your arms. Noah remained silent as he avoided your gaze by staring down at the table. You were glad to see that he was finally calming down but you weren't pleased to see that he wasn't very willing to cooperate with you, so you decided to take a more sincere approach. "Look, Noah...I know you and I haven't ever really got along in the past, but you can talk to me about whatever is bothering you. Just tell me what it is, and I will do what I can to help you."

Your cousin just silently stared at you with a look of disbelief.

"Whatever it is, I won't judge you, I promise. A problem shared is a problem halved. Even if I may not be able to do much, just telling someone will usually make you feel better."

"You've never been this nice before, where's the narcissistic princess that owns 62 purses and 95 pairs of heels?" he sneered. You ignored his snide remark and just stared at him until he sighed as he rubbed his eyes, wincing in pain when he touched his right eye. You briefly frowned until he finally spoke. "Stop talking to me like you're my therapist."

"Noah..."

"It's best if you just don't know. I don't believe you would be able to handle the burden."

"Are you implying that you think I'm weak-willed?" you growled.

"I'm not implying anything, just mind your own business."

_'Despite what he said earlier, I still honestly truly think that he may have some form of DID. Though, I'm no psychiatrist so maybe it's something else? I've never had to have this talk with someone before since I hate conversations about feelings. But if I don't try to talk to him who will?'_

"Does this have anything to do with Amelia by any chance?" as soon as you asked that, you felt the atmosphere in the room go tense as Noah stayed quiet, "Noah, I seriously don't know how to tell you this, but you need to move on and find somebody else. It's not healthy that you're still trying to hold onto something that is no longer there. I'm probably going to regret saying this, but you're an attractive guy, finding another girl isn't going to be that hard. The sooner you accept that she isn't coming back, the better. Nothing is going to improve if you don't trust me on this."

"Shut up, it's not her," he spat.

Silence followed for the next few seconds. You glanced at Noah as he stared at the table.

 _'Is there something wrong with me?'_ you wondered. You contemplated what to reply with until you realized that you had now grown tired with the conversation.

"Do you really hate me that much?" you solemnly mumbled as your gaze traveled down to the table. When you received no response, you got up and began walking to the door. "Fine then. This is the last time I'll try to help you. If you would rather I not care then so be it, just don't come to me for any more help in the future..."

"(Name)."

You stopped once you reached the door. Despite the stubborn little voice in your head telling you to ignore him and keep walking, you turned back and looked over your shoulder at the brunette. His gaze was glued to the table and his face was dismal.

"Thank you for what you've done. I don't want to talk about this thing since I feel like I can handle it on my own. I'm not actually mad at you or anything, this thing has just been stressing me out, and it hasn't been helping my mental state. I've been taking it out on you, and for that I'm really sorry. You have a right to be mad and concerned and I'm sorry I've been causing you so much trouble when you're just reacting to the situation like anyone else would."

You hesitated before calmly walking back over to Noah as he covered his face with his hands again. Soft sobs left his lips again as you neared him.

You accepted the apology. You were still angry with him so it would take maybe the rest of the day to forgive him. However, pushing your feelings aside, you decided to console him to the best of your ability. You were many things but unknown to Noah, heartless wasn't one of them. It would take some time for him to discover that.

"I-I don't know what I'm meant to do...I-I...he..."

It seemed as if he was now talking to himself rather than you. You had no idea what he was referencing, but you didn't feel that it was in your best interest to inquire about that based on his current emotional state and what he said a few minutes ago. You reached out to place your hand on his shoulder, but you were taken by surprise when he suddenly stood up wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a unanticipated hug. His head rested on your shoulder as he continued to sob.

You felt a wave of sympathy as you wrapped your arms around him. It was strange hugging the guy that you used to absolutely hate when you were little. You and Noah only ever hugged each other when you had to. It was usually to please the adults or keep up an impression. You didn't recall a time when the two of you shared a sincere hug (or anything for that matter).

"I can't sleep...I can't sleep...I-I can't even live, I-I...I...I mustn't sleep..." he began mumbling into the fabric of your T-shirt as he began to tremble.

"N-Noah, you're drunk...let's get you to bed, okay?"

"No!" he suddenly yelled out as he suddenly pushed away from you and stumbled back, hitting the table.

"Noah, the alcohol must be kicking in now. You've drank like what — five bottles? That must be roughly 8.5 units! I'll get you some water, and then you should take—"

"I'm not sleeping!" he yelled as he looked at you with a crazed look in his eye.

You fell silent as you watched him tremble and shake as he slowly sat back down.

"J-Just get me a coffee..."

"What?"

"Coffee, now!" he cried with a hint of desperation in his voice. You jolted before making a beeline for the kitchen.

You spent the next ten minutes making Noah a coffee. You decided to prepare him a glass of water as well since you weren't convinced that water concentrated with ground coffee beans would do the trick.

When you finally returned, Noah was miserably rubbing his right eye. Though his face slightly lit up when he saw you walking in with his coffee, though, before you put it down, you placed the large glass of water in front of him first.

"You're drinking the whole of that first before I give you this."

"Fine..." he groaned before he began chugging down the glass of water. Once he was done, you placed the coffee down for him before making your way to the door.

"If that's all you need then I'll be on my way. But let's get one thing straight, I'm not a maid so don't boss me around like one, okay?"

"Whatever you say, _princess_ ," he huffed as he took a sip of his coffee.

You let out a sigh before you spared him one last glance. You exited the dining room and made your way to your bedroom, leaving him alone.

Noah silently sat in the quiet room staring at his reflection in the dark liquid. The clock on the wall ticked away, counting up the seconds in an almost mocking manner. Noah loathingly brought his hand to his right eye again, for what felt like the millionth time that week. As he ran his fingers over the eyelid, he felt a wet substance taint his fingertips.

Removing his hand, he noticed a drop of blood land in the drink. The dark liquid rippled until it smoothed itself out again.

Noah gazed down at his reflection, focusing on his now bloody right eye, seeing one golden eye gaze back up at him.

"What do you want, Bill?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (March 23rd, 2019): Hey guys, unfortunately, Chapter 10 may not come until May. April is going to be a bit busy since I have exams, so it's possible the next chapter won't be ready for that month, but this notion isn't set in stone. However, the good news is that I can use this time to get my bearings and do some extra planning and note taking for the continuation of the plot, hopefully, do some editing of the previous chapters and slowly bring this slow burn to its end along with the Arrival Arc. You may notice that the chapters have been updated with the arcs now listed before the chapter name since the poll takers thought it was a good idea. I have also managed to add YouTube videos to some of the chapters. I'm thrilled that I finally managed to figure that out! Photos taken from Gravity Falls: Journal 3.
> 
> (The book doesn't sponsor this series.)
> 
> Until next time, dorks!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	12. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 10: Early June Showers ▲

**Arrival Arc: Early June Showers**

* * *

You awkwardly stirred your cereal around the bowl, watching the soaked pieces float on the surface of the little pond of milk. You glanced up at your cousin to see him chatting away on the phone.

Noah's face was vacant of any real emotion as he organized the date when he would be going back to work. During your breakfast Noah's employer, Dan called to ask how he was feeling and when he would be coming back into work. As soon as he expressed his concerns, Noah jumped to telling him that he would come in today if he were needed. However, it seemed as if Dan was fine with Noah taking a few more days off if he still wasn't feeling great after the scare that occurred on Friday. Now, Noah was explaining what had happened and organizing a date when he would be back into work, going off what the doctor told him, which was to take a day or two off to 'get back into shape.'

You wondered whether Noah would be taking any more days off work. You found it strange that he was willing to take even one day off. It was so unlike him to put his work aside since it seemed like it was the only thing in his life that he genuinely made him happy. Noah was in every sense of the word: a workaholic.

_"...Yeah, yeah...I'm not sure actually...uhh...I'd say Friday? I'm improving, and I've been trying to make sure my breathing is in order...no, it shouldn't be a problem, don't worry...yes, tell them I'm fine...yes...okay...thank you...see you Friday...bye..."_

Noah hung up with a soft smile playing on his lips. You watched him with a nonchalant expression as he placed the phone on the table and picked up his spoon again. When he noticed your gaze, his ghost of a smile disappeared as he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

You shrugged, "Nothing. Was that your boss?"

"Yeah, Dan and I agreed that I go back into work on Friday, so I can at least help him get the wood ready for Monday's delivery."

You nodded in acknowledgment before finally bringing the spoon up to your lips after stirring it around the bowl for the past eight minutes.

You knew that by Noah going back to work, he must have been feeling better. However, you weren't going to hold your breath; his work was got him into that position in the first place so there was still the small chance something could go wrong. Though, with how Noah had been acting, you didn't think that chance was as small as it should be. He had been using his inhalers when he was supposed to, but there was the concern about his sleeping and the odd ramblings that kept coming from his mouth when he was pissed drunk.

You chewed the bland cereal, cringing slightly at the cardboard taste of it as you contemplated the previous night. After you went back up to your room to go read, you came back downstairs to see Noah still drinking coffee. You wondered how many cups he had as he drank another one throughout a very awkward dinner. After that, he retreated into the living room while you returned to your room.

Though, besides the excessive consumption of coffee, one thing struck you as odd. You didn't recall Noah going to bed that night. You stayed up late on your phone until you went downstairs to check on your cousin and get a snack. He didn't notice you, but you saw him when he was moping in the living room. He was sat on the windowsill with the window open with a cigarette between his two fingers.

You didn't think Noah was the type who regularly smoked (if at all) since you had never smelt cigarettes on him. It was a real shock to see him doing it when he certainly didn't seem like the type to go anywhere near them.

_First impressions were a lie._

You saw his sleep-deprived eyelids droop then suddenly rise, fighting the beckoning of sleep. Fighting a battle that he would eventually lose every time, whether he liked it or not.

Following that, you eventually left and went back to your room and went to bed. Though you couldn't say whether you were sure Noah went to sleep that night.

You glanced at Noah's face as he picked up his empty bowl and took it to the kitchen.

Although, from the dark rings under his eyes, and his hunched-over posture, you doubted that he closed his eyes for even a second. Which in itself was strange, since he had been sleeping for the past few days.

_Or maybe he didn't sleep at all?_

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Tuesday passed very quickly. Noah spent the days at home with a coffee in his hand. While you, on the other hand, spent time at the gym burning the calories that you had been consuming for the past week.

During the day, you went to the gym for two hours. Noah, of course, spent the day at home doing who knows what. When you got back to the cabin after jogging back, you noticed that Noah was making himself a cup of coffee.

"What are you doing?" you asked.

"Making coffee, what does it look like?"

"You've been drinking way too much coffee. All that caffeine isn't good for you."

"And you're so educated in coffee?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"To answer your condescending question: yes I am. My mom drinks that stuff almost as much as she downs the gin and tonic. Yes, it's good for antioxidants and has vitamins, but it also has caffeine, an addictive stimulant that can and _will_ disrupt your sleep," you explained as you folded your arms.

"Great, so you're suddenly a doctor now..." he sighed as he brought the cup to his lips.

You sighed, "Noah, about what you were saying last night-"

"Forget it."

"Noah—"

"Please, just let it go..." he sighed as he looked you in the eye. You sighed in defeat as you dropped the subject. You couldn't force him, and the respectful thing to do was to respect his wishes if he wanted to battle with it on his own. Back when you were younger, you had your fair share of depression and social anxiety due to hormones. You preferred to handle them on your own and got frustrated when everyone tried to poke their nose into your business. So you had no right to be such a hypocrite with Noah when you used to be the same.

"Anyway, what have you done with Colin?"

"He's in the bag that I haven't unpacked yet. It's in my room."

You nodded, but before you could leave, Noah stopped you as soon as he opened the fridge.

"Wait a minute, why is the bleach in the fridge...?"

"Uhh..."

▲ △ ▼ ▽

Once you got back to your room, you placed a recently-watered Colin back on the windowsill and picked up your phone. You went to your contacts and called Wendy's number.

The phone rang for a few minutes until you heard her voice on the other line.

"Hey (Name)!"

"Hey Wendy, do you have a minute?" you asked. You could hear other voices in the background along with the soft sound of blowing wind. You wondered if she was busy outside and began to wonder if you had called at a bad time.

"Yeah, I can spare a few minutes. What's up?"

"Uh, you remember Sunday night when we were drinking?" you asked.

"Yeah?"

"Did anyone add anything to the alcohol?"

"You mean like drugs?" she questioned.

"Uh...yeah," you awkwardly replied.

"Not to my knowledge. I don't think anyone in the group does drugs besides Lee and Nate who sometimes smoke weed. Why?"

"Well...it's just that on my way back I think I started hallucinating."

"Woah dude, what did you see?"

"I don't really know, but I saw a thing in the trees, and I started talking to a gnome and...yeah I-I don't know..." you sighed as you tried to rack your brain. The whole thing felt like a distant memory since you were drunk at the time and not fully aware of what was going on.

"Uh, gnomes?" she questioned after a second of silence. You heard a young feminine voice call out Wendy's name in the background. You heard Wendy tell the person that she would 'be there in a minute' before returning to the conversation. "Dude, I don't think you were on any kind of drugs. Uh...you don't usually see stuff like that when dunk do you?"

"No, I have to say this is a first for me," you sighed as you fiddled with a strand of your hair. A few seconds of silence passed as Wendy seemed to be contemplating her response.

"Well, surely you must have heard of the local rumors of the forest?" she questioned with a slight chuckle, but you could tell it was forced.

"Yeah...?" you questioned, wondering where the hell the conversation was going.

"Well, you must know that Gravity Falls forest is allegedly full of strange creatures like fairies, unicorns, giant tree people... _gnomes_..."

You remained silent, mulling over her recent statement with a blank look on your face.

"Uh..." you let out, trying to think up a response.

"You know what? Nevermind! I don't really have an explanation, dude. Just see if you're feeling okay, yeah? Just go outside and have a walk in the woods and clear your head."

"What, like _now_?" you questioned, glancing to the window.

"Yeah! Go out for about half an hour or so!"

"Okay then..."

"Talk to you later, dude!"

"Bye?"

You ended the call as your eyes wandered the room. In all honesty, you weren't in the mood to go outside again. You had just got in, and you were hot and sweaty.

You decided to take a shower to clean off the sweat. When you got into the bathroom, you stripped out of your sweaty gym clothes and grabbed your new soap, shampoo, and conditioner from the giant bag of stuff your dad got you.

Once you had gotten the water running and stepped in, you began to think as you washed your body.

 _'So, since there didn't seem to be any drugs involved, for all I know I'm as mentally unstable as Noah...'_ you thought as you washed your arms. _'What's worse, now Wendy knows it as well. God knows what happened to me that night but I know I must have started hallucinating. It couldn't have been a dream since I came home and Wendy probably would have told me if someone had to haul my ass all the way back here, so what gives?'_

The water splashed onto your body as you rinsed off the soap and salty sweat.

_'So what now? I hope I don't have another episode like that, drunk or not. Though, if that's going to be the first and last time, then I guess it would be okay to just forget about it. It's not like I just suddenly developed psychosis.'_

You were disrupted from your thoughts as a plastic bottle made contact with the ground. You quickly snapped your head over to the opposite side of the bathroom to see that one of your exfoliation bottles had fallen off the wooden shelf and onto the tiled floor.

You breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down after the sudden scare, turning your head away from the bottle. However, as soon as you did, you caught sight of a shadow quickly move through your peripheral.

You snapped your head to the right to look at the bare wall. Nothing was there, but you knew you saw something. Feeling a wave of déjà vu, you recalled the same shape from a few days ago.

After fully checking the rest of the room, you shook it off. Although you didn't believe in things such as gnomes, unicorns, bigfoot, and wizards, you did believe in ghosts. Unlike the former few, there was more valid evidence for them possibly being real. You had memories of seeing your grandmother sitting in your living room at your old house back in Chicago. Sometimes she would wave to you, and sometimes she would disappear right after you caught sight of her, but she would always be in the same armchair in the same room. Although you hadn't seen her since you were nine, your confidence in what you saw didn't waver.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

After you got out of the shower, you returned to your room after drying yourself off. You got changed into a white Malentino T-shirt, some denim jeans and a pair of black sneakers.

You went downstairs and quickly left the house after letting Noah know that you were going back out. You left the cabin and stuffed your hands into your pockets, taking Wendy's advice. You didn't have anything better to do, and you were yet to explore the forest, so you were okay going for a leisurely walk. Too many thoughts were swirling around your head, and you felt like you were just about to lose it. Maybe some fresh air and scenery would calm you down? Worth a shot (and if that didn't work, you could always pinch one of Noah's cigarettes).

You walked outside, shoes making contact with lush grass. You inhaled the crisp cold air, welcoming it wholeheartedly. You began to walk through the woods, appreciating the moment and relishing the tranquility.

The woodpeckers knocked at the bark, and the wind softly blew through the overhead pine trees, making the branches gently sway from left to right.

You looked up and viewed the canopy of branches and pine leaves overhead. Rays of sunlight made it through the small gaps and shone onto the ground where you walked.

The forest was quite pretty. It was very similar to the one back in Crater Lake and was just as refreshing. Due to spending so much time in Orlando, you were used to the sight of tall buildings, flashy billboards, fancy cars, and palm trees. Of course, you didn't hate the city you grew up in — quite the opposite really. However, sometimes you would get bored and wish for a change of scenery. You could only stare at the fancy cars and extravagant show-off of consumerism for so long. The temperate forest was a nice change in setting (despite how cold it was).

You climbed over a rock and continued to venture into the forest, making sure to walk in a straight line so you wouldn't get too lost on your way back.

Despite the beautiful scenery, you could feel the growing unease that you got whenever you walked in the forest. As usual, you felt watched, but now you were starting to wonder if it was just your own anxieties. You had walked through the forest enough and checked behind yourself enough to discover that no one had ever followed you. Of course, you weren't stupid enough to believe that all chances of that had been fully eliminated, but you were now starting to relax and rationalize more.

Wasn't that why you were out there in the first place? To calm down and rationalize? You could say you were an openminded person most of the time, but you usually saw the world through the eyes of a realist. It was how your dad had raised you so you couldn't be easily swayed by other people's silly delusions and cute little fairytales about myths such as inner beauty and being a natural blonde even though their roots clearly say otherwise. However, now and then you would sometimes let your emotions get the better of you or cloud your judgment. You needed to work on that.

You sat down on a nearby fallen tree and began to think. The past week had you acting a little different than usual. You knew that this was just your resilient nature kicking in and your way of dealing with your unfortunate holiday and the rollercoaster of dramatic events that had just taken place. Though, you couldn't say you were worried; things would get back to normal as soon as you returned home.

You weren't feeling homesick yet, but you were definitely missing some things that you were now deprived of. You missed your outdoor pool and jacuzzi, your indoor salt sauna, your spacious room, your large comfy bed, the nearby mall with all of your favorite shops and your local gym with the handsome guy who worked at reception. It was strange not having them and quite annoying too. You couldn't wait to go home and indulge in the things that you were now stripped of. You also missed having Ava around to wait on you and make your meals. You especially missed her iconic turkey baguette sandwich that she made whenever there was a call for celebration or whenever you were in a bad mood. It was a nostalgic thing that she made for you ever since you were little, and even to this day you still could never replicate it.

You felt your mouth water, craving the wonderful sandwich that you proudly called your favorite food.

You looked up at the sky, eyeing the grey clouds above. You had been outside for fifteen minutes, and you noticed that the sun had now disappeared behind the clouds.

You sighed, looking down and mulling over your conversation with Wendy. Surely there was a reasonable explanation that you were missing. You were afraid to talk to anyone else about it, so you decided to keep that information to yourself from then on. If Wendy asked about it again, you decided you would just play it off. Although, you couldn't play it off to yourself. You wondered if it would be in your best interest to ignore it and move on with your life. Shit happens, right? No use mulling over something that you would most likely never recieve the answer to.

"Hey, it's you!"

You jolted and turned around, searching for the owner of the voice. Strangely enough, it was very familiar.

You eyes scanned around until they settled on a small figure standing on one of the trunk's branches.

Your eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and your lips parted, face melting into one of both horror and astonishment.

"Howdy again! Fancy seeing you around here!" the small man smiled. He looked exactly the same. Same hat, same clothes, same brown beard.

Your eyes rapidly scanned the little man from head to toe, gaze not leaving him for a second. Out of shock, you unconsciously started scooting away to create a larger amount of distance between you and the gnome, until you decided to just stand up and start backing away.

"U-Uh..."

"Hey calm down! We saw each other the other night remember? The name's Jeff!"

You stopped backing up as the back of your legs were met with a bush. You silently stared at the _thing_ in front of you, unsure of what to do. You took a few seconds to breathe after rubbing your eyes and concluding that you weren't hullucinating again.

"Um..." you muttered, awkwardly glancing away before bringing your gaze back to the gnome in front of you. He was just idly standing on the branch with his hands on his hips, starting to look a bit offended. You scanned the gnome again, before shaking off your fear of the unknown and glaring at the creature. "Uh, what the _fuck_ are you?"

"Hey hey! Watch the language! And _rude_!"

"Didn't mean to offend, but what the hell!"

"I'm a gnome, genius! We already discussed thi—oh wait you were drunk..."

"Damn right I was! And what the fucking hell is happening!" you screamed.

"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"I'm talking to a living _gnome_! My reality has just been shattered! I'm having an existential crisis! _How the fuck am I meant to calm down?_ " you yelled.

The small man sighed, "Do you need a minute?"

"Yes!" you huffed as you flopped back down on the log and started to breathe.

A minute passed as you stared at the ground and breathed in and out. Eventually, your breathing and your condition calmed but you could still feel the heavy hammering in your chest.

"Okay..." you finally let out, breaking the silence as you turned to look back at the gnome. Despite your tiny inner hope to discover that he had somehow vanished, he was still there, looking over at you with a raised eyebrow. "Start over..."

"Okay, well in that case I'll introduce myself again. Hi! Name's Jeff, and I'm a gnome! So are those other guys over there," he casually pointed to a group of four other gnomes hiding in the bushes, all staring at you. You jumped, not even noticing they were there. It was almost enough for you to start another 1-minute breathing exercise. "Over there we have Bob, Terry, Gnomeo, and Shmebulock! The rest are back in the village! These guys are with me to help pick Yew berries."

You glanced at the three other gnomes silently staring at you with keen interest, before your eyes switched back to Jeff.

"Uh, nice to meet you...again..." you added on the last part with a sweatdrop.

Jeff grinned, "Pleasure's all mine, honey! And if I rememeber correctly, I never got _your_ name last time."

You cringed slightly before shaking it off, "It's (Name)."

"Lovely!"

"So uh...what's the deal with all...this," you gestured to Jeff before he laughed a bit.

"Well, it looks like someone doesn't visit this side of the forest often!"

"...What?"

Jeff rolled his eyes, "The magical side. You're not too far from the fairy border. Just a few more miles and you'd be walking right into Fairy Town!"

"Uh...good to know..." you glanced away before looking back at Jeff, "so there's like...more things like you?"

Jeff huffed, " _'Things'_? Hey, just because we're not the same species—"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! What I meant to say is there other... _spieces_ like you?"

"'Course! There's Unicorns, Leprcorns, Cowls, Question Quail, Eyebats, Scampfires, Kill Billys, The Hide Behind, Slenderman, The Abominbale Bro-Man...the list goes on."

"Damn, and I actually thought I was high..." you muttered to yourself.

"Anyway! Back to our conversation the other night; have you reconsidered on our marriage proposal?" he asked eagerly.

The memory of it quickly came flooding back. You cringed and looked at the gnome with repugnance and mild apprehension.

"Uh...no?"

Jeff frowned, "What? Then what on earth are you doing here?"

"Taking a walk?"

Jeff's folded his arms and turned away with an immature huff, "You're the fifth human to do that now..."

"What?"

"Reject us because we're gnomes, you racist!"

You rolled your eyes and stood up with a glare, "Hey, I'm not a racist just because I'm not attracted to you! And even if I was, what kind of lunatic marries someone they don't even know?"

Jeff silently stared at you with a look of developing fear as you towered over him with a sharp scowl. For a split second, you contemplated flicking him off the branch, but quickly buried that thought since you were afraid of what this gnome may do to you. You weren't an idiot, and weren't going to start assuming that he was completely harmless. For all you knew, he could have a knife shoved up his ass, ready to strike.

" _Yeesh_...okay then darling, you drive a hard bargain. How about—"

"How about you ask someone else?" you interrupted him.

"What? Come on honey! You're one of the prettiest ones we've found yet! Last week we had to chat up a platypus! And guess what? They are way more aggressive than society gives them credit for!" Jeff waved his arms around for dramatic effect as you looked down at the scene with a raised eyebrow.

Your attention was then stolen by a cold drop of liquid landing on the top of your head. You looked up, only to feel another drop land on your cheek.

Within a few seconds, the drops of rain began to slowly increase in numbers, quickly falling from the grey clouds above, with darker clouds moving in from the west. You mentally sighed and cursed yourself for not checking the weather forecast first.

"Well I guess this is my cue to leave..." you sighed as the rain started to pour down, soaking your hair and clothes, "and take a shower... _again_..."

"Wait what about—"

"No."

"But—"

" _No_ ," you hissed as you began to make your way back to the cabin.

"You'll regret this!" Jeff angrily yelled, "we'll come back for you in numbers!"

"Come anywhere near me, and I'll file a restraining order!"

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You let a sigh escape your throat as you pushed open the front door and trudged into the house, soaking wet.

The rain continued to pour outside rapidly, and the dark clouds made loud rumbles. Now and then the sky would flash white for a split second, lighting up the sky with lightning.

"(Name)!"

You glanced to your left to see Wendy get up off the couch to walk over to you. Noah turned his head in your direction but stayed sitting on the adjacent sofa.

"Wendy, hi. What are you doing here?"

"I was nearby, so I came to check on you, dude. You alright now?" she asked with concern.

"Uhh..." you started. _Were_ you alright? That walk was meant to make you feel better, but now you felt even worse than you did before. You had just discovered that you had been living a lie.

Wendy frowned at your blank face and glanced at Noah. He surveyed you with suspicion and gave Wendy a silent shrug.

"Dude, you look like you're mentally debating your entire existence. You wanna' sit down?" she suggested as she guided you into the living room.

"Yeah..." you mumbled as you sat down on the couch as Wendy sat next to you. You let out a sigh and ran your hands down your face. What now? Tell them that you ran into a tree and hit your head? Tell them that you slipped on a damp rock and got a mild concussion? "Uh, Wendy? Going back to what you said about the local legends of this place..."

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Noah raise an eyebrow but you noticed that he tensed up. Wendy was awkwardly silent for a few seconds as she shared a brief moment of eye contact with your cousin. You looked up to meet Wendy's green eyes, to see if you had somehow messed up by even mentioning the topic. Though, as soon as your (color) eyes met Wendy's, she blinked as a look of realization passed over her face.

"...You saw it didn't you?" she sighed.

A look of shock passed over your features as her words startled you. Before you could give her a funny look to test her poor sense of humor, you noticed the serious look on her face. This time, you bit your lip and decided to spill, hoping you were making the right decision with the easiest one.

"I saw a gnome—no! I saw _five_ gnomes..."

You glanced to Noah to see him watching the conversation with interest, but his demeanor seemed pretty nonchalant. He casually gazed at you, as if you were talking about something utterly mundane, like the results of last night's soccer match or what you felt after binge-watching all five seasons of Breaking Bad.

"Oh yeah, those guys are annoying. But hey! At least you saw them and now you know, right?" Wendy smiled, while you stared at her like she had just grown two heads.

"You _knew_?"

"Oh almost everyone knows. Most of the locals here tend to ignore it or deny the existence of the weird creatures that live here," she shrugged. "I honestly thought you already knew, thought Noah must have told you or something. But when you called me earlier, it was clear that wasn't the case. I was kinda' preoccupied with something, so I thought I would come over a later and maybe try and ease you into it..."

You blinked and turned to Noah, "So why didn't _you_ tell me? In fact, I remember you telling me that everything was total bullshit!"

"One: mind the language when we have guests. Two: what do you expect? You're not five-years-old; no way was I going to drop it on you as soon as you arrived. I thought it would be better to let you find out the way I did and get scared by whatever the hell you would run into in that forest," he shrugged.

"Wow, relative of the year over here guys. Thanks for choosing to let me get scared out of my mind!"

Noah just shrugged and sipped his Pitt Cola.

"So when you told me to go for a walk, did you do it specifically for that reason?" you frowned, turning back to Wendy.

Wendy chuckled, "Dude, I was trying to help you. The walk was to help clear your head, but I thought that maybe you might run into something if you were out there for long enough. I did the same with Noah; luckily you only ran into the gnomes..."

Noah grumbled, "Yeah, luckily for _you_ , you didn't come across a giant fifty-foot tall tree monster!"

"Uh..."

"It ate his car," Wendy snickered.

"Anyway, moving on from that. I guess now I should warn you that there are some very weird creatures and objects in the forest with a rare few scattered around the town. Gravity Falls isn't dangerous, but you can get yourself into a lot of trouble if you act like an idiot and mess around with things that shouldn't be messed with," Noah explained, looking at you seriously.

"Right," you sighed, "but I seriously don't think telling me to wander into the forest alone with the chance of getting into said trouble was the best course of action!"

"Dude, you were fine! You look like the type who can take care of herself. And besides, I wasn't actually too far away since I was in the forest as well. All you had to do was scream, and I would have come and saved you," she grinned.

"My hero," you muttered.

Wendy stood up and began to walk to the door, "Anyway, it seems you're alright so I'll be on my way. If any of those gnomes try to marry you or mate with you, just grab the nearest leafblower!"

"Okay, see ya," you waved as Noah did the same. Wendy let herself out, entering the wet thunderstorm. You turned to Noah, "Her house isn't far to walk, is it?"

"No, and even if it were, she'd be alright in that storm."

You nodded before turning your attention to your lap as an awkward silence fell upon the both of you. You spent a minute just inspecting your fingernails until you finally broke the silence.

"Quite the storm, huh?" you awkwardly commented.

"Yeah."

"What were you and Wendy talking about before I got here?"

"News on work, Dan and the boys mostly," he sighed as you awkwardly nodded. Your eyes traveled down to observe your red nails again as a few extra seconds of silence passed but soon looked up when Noah began to speak. "Look, the whole thing about me not talking to you, don't take it to heart."

"I know."

Noah met your gaze to see you with a look of understanding, "I'll maybe tell you about it someday but don't worry about me, I'm doing okay."

You nodded in understanding. Though, you hid your real feelings and went against showing them on the outside. You knew bothering Noah wasn't worth the effort based on what had already happened. You instead chose to give up and let him deal with it himself. Maybe things would work out if you just left him alone?

"I'm going to make some coffee, want some?" you asked as you got up. You were reluctant to ask since it didn't seem like Noah had drunk any coffee that day, thankfully. But, you were craving some, and it would be rude not to offer.

"Uh yeah, bring it up to my room," he replied as he walked past you and over to the staircase.

You watched him trudge up to his room, eyes heavy. He brought a hand to his right eye and rubbed it before disappearing upstairs.

You frowned, but shook it off and entered the kitchen.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"Yo, I got your coffee!" you called through the door as you stood in front of the closed entrance to Noah's room, holding a cappuccino in a 'Duck-tective' mug. You didn't receive an answer. "Hey!" you called again, but still not receiving a response.

 _'Let me guess, he fell asleep,'_ you thought as you reached over and twisted the doorknob before pushing the door open.

You were immediately met with darkness as soon as you opened the wooden door. You scanned the dark room to see Noah passed out on his bed. You felt another wave of déjà vu as you entered the room. As soon as you stepped inside, you immediately noticed how cold his bedroom was, compared to the rest of the house. You shivered slightly and wondered how he managed to sleep in such a cold room.

You observed Noah's sleeping form, noticing that his mouth was hanging open and that he was drooling all over his pillow. You sweat dropped as you placed the hot cup on his bedside table before reaching over and pushing his jaw upwards to close his mouth.

You then pulled the bed sheet over him before admiring your work. Noah wasn't the most attractive of sleepers, but at least he was actually sleeping. The bags under his eyes had slowly been darkening as the week progressed. Now, his eyes had dark purple rings under them with deep bag lines that were now engraved into his skin.

You then turned around to leave but saw the quick movement of one of the shadows through the corner of your left eye. The shadow quickly disappeared into the darkness as soon as you properly looked in its direction.

You stared at the area it vanished into with increased alertness. You checked all around you for any sign of it but to come to no avail. Feeling too frightened to stay in there for any longer, you rushed out of the room, not knowing what it was and not wanting to know either.

After you quickly shut the door behind you, you walked to your room with haste and closed the door.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"Okay, okay..." you muttered as you flicked through the journal. The thought came to you that what you had seen in the forest, would likely be in the journal. Though, now you were more willing to accept the notion that Journal 3 actually had some useful and unexpectedly factual information.

You stopped when you came to the page on the gnomes. You read the pages with interest, taking mental notes on as much useful information as possible.

Upon reading the note of their weakness, you recalled that Wendy told you the same thing. You wondered if the leaf blower weakness was just local knowledge. Though it did make you wonder if Wendy knew anything about the author or the book, it was a bit unlikely, but it was worth consideration. She was a local and seemed to knew the area and its 'inhabitants' well enough.

You gazed down at the book. Going on from the thought of Wendy and the journal clearly being a log of Gravity Falls, you couldn't help but wonder what the exact connection was. Maybe the author lived in Gravity Falls at some point? If so, was he dead? The pages appeared at least a few decades old, though it was hard to make an exact prediction, who knew where the book had been.

You decided to put those questions to bed for now. You could try to find some answers to the book's context some other day. You were there for the summer; you had more than enough time.

After pushing underdeveloped theories and questions aside, you began to read the next few pages of the book. Luckily enough, three pages after, you found the pages that introduced the author. You had already skimmed the page but decided to read it thoroughly. However, the information on the page was near useless.

You continued to read for the next few hours. By viewing each of the pages, you noticed that many of them had what seemed to be weird codes and symbols scattered across some of the pages. Despite having no idea what any of them meant or how to decode them, you doubted that they were just there for decoration.

Admittedly, there was a lot to take in with so many pages filled with records on so many diverse creatures and objects. However, you had elements of a photographic memory, and the pictures and diagrams helped you absorb the information better (with you being a visual learner).

As you read more pages inside the book, you noticed how many pages had been ripped out. You saw that a few were gone when you flicked through it, but now that you were paying more attention and giving the book more thought, you noticed that the missing pages just seemed to increase in numbers. It was quite annoying, to say the least. It made you wonder when the pages were removed and why. But more importantly, you were wondering what was on those pages and what information you and Journal 3 were deprived of.

When you began to feel tired, you placed the book down and placed the small magnifying glass between the pages where you last read, bookmarking it.

After reading for a good few hours, you began to wonder about some of the things the author referenced. With limited information, it was hard to draw a conclusion, but he appeared to be in contact with some divine being. The way he wrote about them made it seem like he greatly respected them and was indebted to them. It was intriguing, but there was unfortunately only a few pages that referenced them so far.

You gave the author credit. He sure did know how to hook his readers. Even if you were still unaware that the creatures in the journal were all most likely real, you still would have enjoyed the book. Though, the only difference was that you now admired him for managing to document all of the weird items and creatures rather than for his immeasurable creativity.

You placed the book on the bedside table. You would continue reading it tomorrow.

You got out of bed to change out of your clothes and get ready for bed. As soon as you changed into your pajamas, you left the room to brush your teeth and clean your face.

While this happened, the wind howled outside, and the rain pummeled down onto the windows and the tiled roof. Thunder rumbled in the night sky like the growling stomach of a hungry wolf, and the lightning flashed every few minutes, like the sharp unwanted flickering of a flashbulb camera. The moon and stars shone brightly but received no appreciation, for they were concealed behind thick gloomy storm clouds that blinded any youthful stargazer.

Though, when you reentered the room, you closed the white curtains, shutting out the wind and rain. Leaving only Colin to view the uproar outside as he stood in his spot on the windowsill, watching.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"(Name)."

You groaned, hearing Noah's voice. Your eyes remained closed as your mind begged you to return to sleep.

You felt the bed dip on your right side, "(Name) wake up."

You mentally sighed and sat up, blinking your eyes awake. You were met with the darkness of your room and Noah's silhouette sitting on the right side of your bed.

"What is it?" you yawned as you gazed up at him with your half-lidded eyes.

It was dark so you couldn't see Noah's face, and your tired eyes made your vision slightly blurry. You turned to the bedside table on your right and reached over to switch the lamp on until Noah suddenly stopped you.

"It's okay; I'll only be here for a second. You don't have to turn the lamp on."

"Okay..." you replied as you retracted your hand. "Did you need something?"

"I can tell you about what's been bothering me now," he blurted. You were a bit taken aback by his forwardness and decision to not beat around the bush.

"What — like now? Can't it wait until morning?" you groaned. You felt your eyelids begin to lower, begging for permission to close and open back up in their own time.

"No, I have to go to work early tomorrow."

"Still, this isn't the best time; I was asleep."

"Do you want to know or not?" he growled.

 _'God, why now does he seem so desperate to tell me? And is it just me...or does he seem to be in a bit of a rush?'_ you wondered.

"Yeah, yeah," you sighed as you rubbed your eyes awake and sat up, "shoot."

"But first I need you to promise me one thing."

You blinked in confusion, "Yeah?"

"Promise me that this stays between you and me, kid."

"Yeah sure, of course..." you nodded in agreement. Not like you were planning to tell anyone else anyway.

"Let's make a deal; I'll tell you everything about what's been going on with me and in return you owe me one."

You looked at Noah strangely, "Uh, that sounds more like I'll be doing you more favors, no offense. It's your business, so you don't have to tell me, you know. I'm okay with staying out of it so don't force yourself to lay this on me."

"Didn't you want to know what was going on?" he scoffed.

"I do, it's just a bit strange that you're turning this into some kind of deal. Just tell me what's going on and trust that I won't tell anyone — which I won't — or don't. No need to hold this against me for me to 'owe you one,'" you frowned.

You couldn't see Noah's face, but you were sure a large grin grew onto his face as the silhouette his cheeks moved. In the dark, it was very unsettling, and a cold shiver shot up your spine.

"Okay then. Well in that case, just shake my hand, and I'll tell you everything. And you know what? In return, I'll help you out when you're feeling low too!"

Noah held out his hand to you as you glanced down at it. You rolled your eyes and dismissed his odd behavior and took hold of his oddly cold hand.

Before you could blink, your both of your hands lit up, and blue flames suddenly appeared, lighting up the dark room.

You unintentionally let out a scream as you jolted backward. However, Noah kept a firm grasp of your hand, almost to the point where it hurt.

"What the fuck!" you yelled as Noah began to snicker.

The flames didn't hurt; in fact, you could barely feel anything at all besides a slight tingle. However, that was the last thing on your mind as you looked up at Noah's face that was illuminated by the cyan flames.

He grinned down at you, staring at you through a pair of golden eyes that glistened under the light of the fire.

Before another word could slip through your lips, your head suddenly began to feel very dizzy. Your vision blurred and you started to feel faint.

You barely realized when you fell forward onto the mattress. Your eyes closed just after you noticed that the blue light dimmed, and the room darkened once again.

And all the while, you could hear soft snickering ringing in your ears as you quickly slipped into unconsciousness.

_"Quite the storm, huh?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (April 15th, 2019): Hell yeah! So it turns out you have an April update after all! You're welcome! The last chapter of the Arrival Arc will be published later this month or in May, and Chapter 12 will be the start of next of the next arc! Expect to see Chapter 11 soon! I have also edited the Introduction! Go check it out to see the new disclaimers. If you are underage or if any of the topics listed make you uncomfortable in any way, do click away from this page! I do not want to be responsible for anyone or anyone's parents getting upset by this story. I will not be held accountable for your own actions. If you consent to that, then feel free to keep reading! But do be aware that the disclaimers may change, as this story is incomplete. Photos taken from Gravity Falls: Journal 3.
> 
> (The book doesn't sponsor this series.)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives
> 
> To OWO: don't worry about this chapter being uploaded now! Chapter 11 is coming and in my opinion, I believe you and everyone else will enjoy it much more than this one! I think you can guess why! ;) Happy birthday and I hope you enjoy your early birthday present! <3


	13. ▲ Arrival Arc - Chapter 11: Mr. Cipher ▲

**Arrival Arc: Mr. Cipher**

* * *

**[🌺 Click for ambiance 🌺](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUjUhZ1Yy7Y&t=3521s) **

_What was that smell?_

_It almost smelt like grass._

_Fresh grass and flower nectar._

You distinctly make out the sound of birds softly chirping and crickets softly clittering. There was a soft, cool breeze in the air and you could feel it in your hair and on your bare skin. The sound of rushing water wasn't too far, and you could hear it flowing amongst the rocks in a nearby creek. The gentle spring wind traveled through the trees, letting the branches softly sway from side to side, and the leaves rustle with every movement of air.

Even though your eyes were closed, your body was awakening, gaining an acute awareness of your surroundings. You could feel midday sunlight shining behind your closed eyelids, and you could feel the warm rays touch the exposed areas of your skin. You were laid out on your side, resting on what felt like grass. The blades brushed the left side of your face that was faced down, while the right side basked in the overhead sunlight.

You inhaled the soft, pleasant scent again. Along with flowers and grass, now you could smell the faint aroma of earth. You quietly hummed and slowly opened your eyes to view your surroundings. You moved your legs and arms, feeling your skin run across the bed of grass beneath you.

Your eyes were met with the sight of long blades of grass and buttercups sprouting from the earth. They softly swayed in time with the soft wind and reveled under the sun. You observed them with light curiosity until you felt the sunlight start to blind your vision.

You squinted from the bright light, covering your eyes as you sat up. You blinked, trying to ease your eyes to the daylight before moving your hands away from your eyes.

You viewed your surroundings with awe, observing the large meadow filled with buttercups, daisies, and yellow snapdragons. The meadow seemed to go on for miles, sloping down into a valley. You appeared to be on top of a hill since you had a lovely view of the other fields and could gaze far out into the distance.

Looking out as far as the horizon, you couldn't see any indication of a nearby urban area. There were no cars, no houses, no roads, and no people either. The place was entirely rural, with only trees, fields, and a nearby wood to your left with a long stream that ran through it and along the left side of the meadow.

You looked around with confusion, trying to gather your bearings and possibly spot someone nearby — even though that seemed unlikely. It seemed as if you were the only one there, besides the sheep in the next field, contently chewing the cud without a care in the world.

You looked down at your simple attire. You were wearing a plain white cami top with some denim shorts. Your hair was loose, and you were barefoot, feeling the lush grass underneath your feet and between your toes.

You gazed down at where you previously lay, inspecting the small area where the grass had flattened under your weight.

How long had you been asleep?

Where were you?

How did you get there?

You didn't recognize any of your surroundings, and you had a hard time recalling anything before waking up. Was this a place in Gravity Falls? It didn't seem like it. The area didn't look familiar, and you weren't sure the woods led to anywhere of interest.

You walked around, observing the field of flowers. You watched small clouded yellow butterflies and honeybees land on the flowers and climb inside, seeking out the sweet nectar that you could smell in the air. Small green crickets clung to the blades of grass, and the ladybirds flew through the air, seeking out small green aphids.

You sat down on the grass bank, viewing the valley. There were a few more hills opposite the one you were on. The fields expanded across the land, one of them inhabiting sheep and another one occupying rapeseed flowers. However, despite the crops and livestock, there was no evidence of a nearby farm or a vehicle to harvest the crops. It was as if they both looked after themselves.

You shut your eyes and softly breathed in, enjoying the ambiance. The air was fresh and crisp with the cool breeze traveling through the warmer air, creating a sense of equilibrium. A small smile played on your lips, feeling a wave of comfort and tranquillity.

 _'I may not know where I am, but I like it,'_ you thought as you contently let the wind blow onto your face and flow through your hair.

You snapped your eyes open at the sounds of flapping wings.

You turned to your left to see an unkindness of ravens suddenly fly out of the woods, letting out distressed caws. You watched the birds fly over your head and over to the trees on the opposite side of the meadow.

Your eyes then traveled back to the woods on your left. What had set them off?

You watched the leaves rustle and crackle. You couldn't help but notice that the wind had gotten stronger. Now, it seemed as if you were standing in a field on a very windy day. The trees swayed, the leaves fluttered, and every so often the wind would let out a faint howl as it tousled your hair, now you were facing away from it.

You stood up from your spot and scanned the trees. You didn't feel scared or anxious per se, but the feeling of unease and slight foreboding started to creep into your mind.

You unintentionally took a few steps forward as you looked amongst the trees. You had begun to wonder if there was another person nearby, despite your initial thoughts that you were alone. Or maybe you were wrong? Perhaps it was just a large animal of some kind? But something inside made you nervous, doubting both notions.

The world around you seemed to have gone quiet aside for the whistling wind. The crickets had stopped chirping, the birds had stopped singing, the bees had stopped buzzing, and the butterflies had hidden away. The sun was still shining, but it had disappeared behind the white fluffy clouds, casting a shadow over the earth.

The wind continued to howl, but your ears picked up on something else amongst the sound of the wind. You could hear a soft whisper in the air. You couldn't make out the words — but it was there; faint, feeble and fragile.

With every howl, there was an inaudible whispering. The words were indecipherable, almost as if the voice was speaking in tongues.

Your eyes shifted away from the trees to scan the area around you in question. You began to wonder if anyone was speaking from a distance, but there wasn't a single human soul for miles.

It was then you heard it.

A soft whisper traveled through the air, coming from no discernable direction.

_"Come closer."_

A cool shiver shot up your spine as you instantly brought your gaze back to the woods in front of you.

You were filled with apprehension, reluctant to even move an inch forward. You began to take a step back, feeling the sense of foreboding quickly increase.

You began to get ready to retreat to the other side of the meadow, fearing for the worst.

_"Come closer."_

It repeated the same statement, only slightly more clear this time.

Your eyes rapidly scanned the pine trees, looking for just about anything in the world. Though, nothing out of the ordinary made the even the tiniest appearance. However, that didn't lull your odd juxtaposing feelings of unease and curiosity.

_"I won't hurt you, there's nothing to be cautious of."_

The whisper weaved itself through the air and snuck into your ears. With every new statement, it got clearer but somehow closer.

Following a moment of hesitation, you pushed back your trepidation and gave in to your curiosity. It felt like a stupid decision, but something inside was calming you down and urging you to walk onward.

You took a few steps forward, and then some more. You kept stepping forward until you stopped, standing a few meters away from the trees.

You boldly stood your ground and observed the trees with a suspicious frown. After feeling a bit reluctant at first, you finally decided to open your mouth and call out into the distance.

"Hello?" you called out, feeling a bit wary. A part of you hoped either the whispering voice or maybe even a new one would answer you. Nevertheless, the other part of you hoped that you were just hearing things, though your doubts of that were slowly increasing by the minute.

 _"I'm here,"_ the voice sang as you unintentionally shivered.

"Where?" you croaked out. You tried to call out, but for some reason, the word came out much quieter than you intended it to. There was an ambiguous tightening in your throat that was as dry as sandpaper.

You jumped as your surroundings suddenly lost all of their colors. The world around you quickly faded into an achromatic land. Your surroundings had now lost their bright, colorful hues. The bugs and the birds slowly stopped their movements, freezing in time. All sounds suddenly died as the howling wind suddenly vanished into nothing, ceasing all movements of the grass and trees, and causing the whole area to become quiet.

The land was so deathly silent, you could hear a pin drop. Your own breaths and heartbeat became more noticeable. For a few seconds, you were stood there, staring at nothing; not understanding what was going on.

That's why it was so daunting when an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Behind you."

The hair on your neck stood up. The same voice from before came from right behind you — now no longer a whisper — speaking loud and clear.

The figure snickered as you whipped your head around to view the person behind you. Yet, you were shocked to discover that the owner of the voice wasn't a person at all.

A silent breath escaped your lips as you observed the creature in front of you. Its single eye gazed down at you as you returned the eye contact, viewing the strange being in all of its glory.

The creature was a yellow equilateral triangle with one eye in the center of its body. A pair of thin black arms and legs stuck out from the edges. The lower part of its body had a brick-like pattern with a black bow tie in the lower center. And to complete the look, a long black top hat floated just above the top vertex.

The creature floated roughly three meters from the ground, casting a soft golden glow from its triangular body. You noticed that only you and the strange being were the only ones not devoid of color, unlike the rest of your monochrome surroundings.

You gazed up at the creature in both shock and wonder. Despite it only taking a second, it felt much longer to you as you just managed to mentally comprehend what you were seeing.

However, the creature was avid to talk, jumping right into a conversation.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the _dear relative_! I was wondering when I would run into you! Seems as if our introduction to one another has come sooner rather than later!"

The creature's body glowed as he spoke, much like a lightbulb. Its voice was strange; it echoed and sounded inhuman like it had its own idiolect or even a unique echoing accent from another world.

"Enjoying yourself? I made this whole area just for you, you know?" the triangle titled its body, much akin to the tilt of a head.

You briefly glanced around before your eyes returned to the yellow triangle. Your mind had trouble focusing on anything else since it was too preoccupied with the current situation. Though, you were just able to quickly think up a response.

"What are you?" you softly let out, still viewing the creature with awe.

"What are _you_?" it rhetorically asked before proceeding to laugh at its own joke. After it finished its strange laughing fit, it answered your question more seriously. "What I am is open to interpretation! But for the sake of argument, call me a dream-demon. But don't put be put off by it. I'm not exactly the type of 'demon' that you're culturally familiar with."

You gazed at the creature, unsure. When you first heard the term 'dream-demon,' you were almost ready to start panicking. However, you assumed it was merely stating that it wasn't the typical type of demon from Hell. Yet, you decided to just make sure.

"So I assume you have no connotations with Hell then? Or The Devil, or Heaven, or God, or Purgatory or anything like that?"

"No links whatsoever! Though, I can't say I'm too familiar with the people and places that you just mentioned."

You mentally sighed in relief. You were on board to experience the paranormal and the strange creatures in Gravity Falls, but demons and The Devil were where you drew the line.

"So, let's get this show on the road! I didn't come here for small talk or an ethical discussion so let's get down to business!" it announced with glee as it floated closer to you. "But first, let's get acquainted, huh?" it then held out a hand to you. "Bill Cipher!"

You then slowly took ahold of the small hand and shook it in a greeting. You wondered from its name and masculine voice that it may be a 'he.' You weren't one to assume its gender, but you decided to refer to it as a 'he' from then on unless asked otherwise. 'It' sounded far too derogatory.

"(Name)," you replied, retracting your hand.

"Must say, kid, I've been quite eager to meet you. You're quite the stunner!" Bill complimented, eye crinkling with mirth.

You felt flattered by the compliment, but you found it weird that some triangular 'dream-demon' was making flirtatious comments after two minutes upon meeting you. However, you decided to take it over insults, death threats or any other unsettling statements that could come from a demon (whether it be from Hell or not).

"Thanks..."

Bill then looked around, "Hmm, you know, I think I preferred this place with a little more color. And from your reaction, it seems as if you preferred it that way too. Let's change it back!"

Bill then snapped his fingers, and the whole world reverted back to normal. The green returned to the grass, the blue returned to the sky, and the flowers were white and yellow once again. The soft wind also began to softly blow again, and the bugs and the animals resumed their movements.

"Better now, toots?" he asked, twirling his yellow cane in his left hand. You slightly cringed at the pet name, feeling a wave of déjà vu.

"Yeah, it's nice..." you muttered, looking around, making sure that everything was back to normal.

"Great! So let's sit down and get to know each other!" he said with delight before snapping his fingers once again.

You looked to your right to see that two white garden chairs had appeared, along with a white garden table and a large black garden sun parasol hanging overhead. On the table was a tea set along with plates and a cake stand full of light snacks and sugary treats.

"Sit down, kid!" he urged, referencing to the table.

Following a brief moment of hesitation, you walked over to the table that stood on top of the hill, and away from the slope. You sat down on the nearest chair as Bill sat opposite you, after enlarging his size.

You briefly eyed the refreshments laid out on the table. Now you were viewing them up close, you were quite impressed with the large variety of snacks. The teapot was blue with an eye design painted on the side, with matching cups, milk jug, and sugar bowl. The cake stand had cupcakes and slices of cake laid out. And the plates had a range of other treats such as sandwiches, jam tarts, flapjacks, brownies, scones, macaroons, croissants, cinnamon swirls and even a plate of chocolate profiteroles!

"Eat your heart out, kid! You're only dreaming so don't worry about getting indigestion or _...putting on_ a few pounds!" he explained before laughing at his own joke again.

You blinked, "This _is_ a dream..."

"Well yeah! Didn't the term 'dream-demon' give you a hint?" he replied, giving you a look that seemed like he was almost questioning your intelligence. If he had an eyebrow, you were pretty sure it would have been raised now.

"Well, this place feels very real. I was just making sure that you weren't just bending reality," you justified.

"Not today, Crown."

You watched Bill use his magic to pour tea into both cups. You observed it with interest as the teapot levitated above each cup and poured the tea.

"How many lumps?" he asked as the sugar bowl hovered in the air.

"Uh, three please," you replied before three white sugar cubes landed in your tea. Though, you didn't miss the sight of Bill tipping the rest of the sugar into his cup. You frowned, feeling another wave of déjà vu.

"I'm assuming you take milk?"

"Yes."

The small jug poured milk into both cups before landing back onto the table. You awkwardly stirred your tea, silently waiting for the triangle to speak up again.

"I'm assuming you have more questions than I do kid, so I'll make mine quick," he addressed, while you nodded. He was right, you did have a lot of questions, but you weren't sure which one to ask first. "So, if I'm right in thinking...you're the cousin from the east, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Florida," you confirmed before taking a sip of your tea, realizing that you didn't recognize the strange tea flavor. You thought you could taste the subtle tang of citrus, but you couldn't identify the other odd mixture of flavors. Still, regardless of how strange it was, it wasn't necessarily unpleasant.

"Hm...and ignoring your cousin, I'm assuming the rest of your family is back home?"

"Uh, sort of. My mom is back in Orlando, and my dad is in New York. As for my aunt and uncle, they're both in Chicago. And my other aunt is who knows where..." you shrugged with a roll of your eyes.

You had to admit, you weren't expecting him to ask such generic questions. You weren't soo sure what type of questions you thought a dream-demon would ask you. Though you certainly weren't expecting such mediocre ones.

"And how has your life been like these past years?" he inquired, admiring his nails (if he even had any).

"In what way?" you puzzled, looking at him with confusion. Bill's eye then came back up to meet yours again.

"Generally! Whether you've had a nice house, nice area to live in, decent childhood, nice friends, good school, loving mom, loving dad — you get the idea," he explained, motioning with his hand.

"Oh, well in that case, yeah. I like my house, I like Orlando, I like the house staff, I've had a nice childhood, not many bad memories. I have nice friends as well. I love Lillian, Karen is a wonderful girl who I've known since I was little and Charlotte is an absolute angel. My boyfriend Louie is amazing, and so is my best friend, Alec. School is as good as school can get. It's hard work, but I attend one of the top private schools in the area. I'm happy that I have that privilege. My parents are divorced, but both of them love me, so I guess that's all that matters in the end," you gave a smile to punctuate the mini-monologue.

Bill scanned your face for a second before replying with joviality.

"Great! Glad to see that you're happy, kid! Now, proceed with the vast array of questions that you have stored inside that little skull of yours! We have exactly three hours until you're woken up by loud bashing so I think we should get a move on."

You nodded, before deciding upon your first question. Surprisingly, it derived from the questions Bill just asked. You took a sip of your tea before placing it back on the saucer in front of you.

"Well, to start off, I'm curious to know why a dream-demon would ask such generic questions. It seems kind of strange when you just said that you aren't here for small talk, Mr. Cipher."

"Well aren't you the formal one!"

"It's how I refer to pretty much any acquaintances that I don't go to school with. It's just how I've been raised..."

"Well, I assure you, 'Bill' is just fine. But knock yourself out!"

"So about my question..."

"Well, I already know a bit about you. I just wanted to see if my knowledge of you aligned with your responses."

"And the purpose of that is...?"

"To make sure you're doing alright!"

You frowned at his response, but you got the unspoken message that he wasn't going to go into any details. You weren't one to pry so you let it go, not wanting him to think you were too nosy.

You picked up one of the brownies, "So back to my initial first question: who are you?"

"Well, I thought we were already done with introductions?" he chuckled, sipping his tea with his eye (which you found a bit strange).

"Some more context would be nice," you shrugged, nibbling on the brownie.

"Well, what can I say, doll? I'm an entity from another dimension. Someone with boundless knowledge; a guide, a teacher, a mentor, a friend."

"So in other worlds or dimensions, does 'demon' have different meanings and connotations?"

"In a way. Like I said, I'm not the type of demon that you're culturally familiar with. I'm not here to eat your soul, rip you to shreds, or carry out any other strange fantasies you humans seem to have. Although... let's just say that the term 'demon' may not have a direct translation in some places. It's not like many people speak your language there...or any other language on this planet for that matter."

"So, where do _you_ come from then?" you asked, with a tilt of your head.

"The second dimension. Not a very lively place; so I left."

"No harm in that," you shrugged, reaching for a cinnamon swirl. "Did you just recently leave?"

"No. I haven't been there in over a trillion years."

"Wow..." you muttered with disbelief, "...how old are you?"

"One trillion, eight hundred sixty-three billion, nine hundred fifty-seven million, two hundred ninety-four thousand, six hundred and ninety-six years-old."

"Holy crap..." you muttered in shock, following a few seconds of silence. "You must have celebrated a lot of birthdays then, huh?" you joked.

"I stopped celebrating them after a while. There's no point in it when you know that you'll be around forever," Bill shrugged.

You contemplated his words for a second before answering, "That makes sense. I would probably not celebrate them either if I were that old," you mused as you grabbed a muffin and a flapjack, placing them onto your plate, before greedily grabbing a scone and a large slice of red velvet cake too. "So onto the next question. Why are you here?"

"I have a 'business proposal' for you that I will get into in a little while! I'm here to help you while you help me. I'll explain the details after our little tea party, but I think you'll be interested in my offer."

"I see. And is there any particular reason why you have entered my dream instead of someone else's?" you inquired with a hint of suspicion.

"Yes."

"And are you going to explain the reason why—"

"No."

Once again, you frowned at his response, but you hoped that he would maybe explain that in a while. If not, you could always ask again later.

"Are you here to stay? Are you going to be in my dreams again from this point forward?" you inquired, taking a bite out of the cake.

"That all depends! I might stay; I might not!"

You nodded and ate some more of the food. It was delicious, but you wondered if it only tasted amazing since it was in a dream.

"Done with questions?" he asked, with a hint of amusement.

You thought over anything else to ask. You knew you would have more, but none were popping into your mind at that moment. The only questions you had were ones that you thought could be interpreted as rude, so you decided you would not ask them. At least, not yet.

"I guess so. I'll let you know if I have any more."

"Very well then! Come take a walk with me!" he gleefully announced, while you glanced down at your plate with mild dismay, still not finished.

You got up and followed Bill, leaving the table behind. But when you glanced back, you noticed that it had disappeared, with no trace of it ever being there in the first place.

Bill floated alongside you as you both walked into the woods. You observed the trees and your surroundings, admiring the scenery. For a dream, it was very realistic. Part of you still wanted to believe that it was real.

"So, I'm not one to beat around the bush with these sort of things so let's start talking!" Bill announced as he floated to your left. "I'm here because I need help with something! Help that I know only _you_ can give me. And in return, I'll help you with something!"

"What kind of help are we talking about here?" you questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Glad you asked! You see, there are a few little tasks I need doing, and I need you to be my 'companion.' As my companion, you'll be my host. Since I'm here in your dream, I'm also inside your mind. I can leave, but I would prefer to stay for a while since, through you, this is the only way I can have any existence in your world. There are things in your world that I need and the only way I can get it is through the assistance of a human being."

"It doesn't sound like you need a specific person to help you with this..." you pointed out, giving him a look of suspicion.

"That comes on to the next thing I need help with! I'm not gonna' lie, kid — you're one unique individual! And that's something, coming from me! I don't have enough time to explain it in full since you'll be waking up soon, but you can be a big help to me. In fact, you are the only one who can help me. There are a variety of tasks I need doing, but they're all very important. It's all going towards a little something I've been working on, and all I need is your cooperation!" he encouraged, eye crinkling happily.

"And what do I get out of this?" you queried, folding your arms.

"Do you have any dreams? Anything you so desperately want more than anything in the world?" he began, floating closer to you. You were able to make out the finer details on his body, and for some reason, you had the small urge to reach out and touch him. But of course, that went against your better judgment.

"Uh...well there are a few things I want, I suppose. Although, they're all material things that I can get myself..."

"Well, I can do that for ya' toots, but it wasn't exactly what I was going for!"

"I figured as much. Though, I can't say I have any dreams, really. I mean, I have everything I could ever ask for..." you softly uttered, looking down.

_'That's what I'm meant to say, isn't it?'_

"You do, but you don't feel that way," Bill stated, hands behind his back. You abruptly looked back up with a shocked expression as soon as he said that. You opened your mouth to say something, but you got stopped when he suddenly jumped right into asking another question. "How are things looking for your future?"

"What?" you asked, giving him a look.

"You're in line to inherit daddy dearest's company! You're already studying the required subjects for that line of work! I want to know your thoughts on it!" he chatted.

"How...do you know that?" you asked, staring at him with bewilderment and apprehension.

"I know loads of things about you! The name of your first pet, the name of each school you have attended, your favorite color, the identity of your first crush, your first word, your astrology signs, the date of your death, your deepest darkest secrets — I can go on all day!"

You looked at him with suspicion, "Name one of my secrets."

"You were so addicted to your dummy, that you didn't give it up until you were six."

You fell silent, remembering that stage in your childhood. However, you couldn't say it was one of your 'deepest darkest' ones, but it was an old one that only some members in your family knew about. You weren't sure if you should be amazed or frightened. What else did he know?

"So, are you going to answer my question?"

"Well, like you said, I _have_ been preparing for it. I've pretty much been preparing since an early age. The co-founder of my dad's company died many years ago, so around that time, my dad decided to let me inherit the company as its new CEO, as opposed to selecting one of his subordinates. Not sure I fully agree with that, but it's a very auspicious career that many would kill to have, so who am I to turn it down?"

"But you have your doubts."

You saw no point denying it if he already knew basically everything about you. Though, it did make you wonder why he asked those generic questions when he could have easily answered them for himself. Maybe that also had to do with the thing about him wanting to see if your responses aligned with his own knowledge. If that was indeed the case, then did he see through the lie you said earlier?

"Yeah...I suppose. The thought is daunting and scary in its own way, but it will be alright," you conceded with a shrug and a smile.

"I don't want lying to become a habit of yours. If this is ever going to work, I need you to start being honest with me. I overlooked your first one, but I don't want this happening often between us. So now tell me the truth, kid..." Bill frowned as he crossed his arms. Bill floated a bit higher, now gazing down at you with a look of disapproval.

You blinked. So he _did_ see through your lie. You shouldn't be surprised. Bill appeared to be a being with near omniscient powers. You didn't know much about him — and God knows what he really was — but one thing was for sure, he seemed to have a pretty good built-in bullshit detector.

You sighed through your nose, preparing to say your next words.

"With all due respect, I don't like talking about personal stuff to strangers — human or not. I don't have to answer your questions if I don't want to," you calmly replied, looking him in the eye.

Bill paused for a few seconds, before quickly brushing your words off.

"Understandable! We've only known each other for a few hours after all! Yet, if you hear me out, I promise I can be the best thing that ever happened to you!" he announced with glee.

"How?" you frowned.

"(Name) (Surname), daughter of divorced parents, (Father) (Surname) and (Mother) (Surname). Lives in Orlando, Florida in a big house with a salt sauna and an outdoor pool. Has people wait on her day and night due to her high status in the socio-economic hierarchy. Polite, sophisticated, rich, powerful — has everything she could ever ask for. But what is she really like?" Bill started, with his body showing flashing images of your life, in a mini photo montage. He slowly circled around you, gazing down at you with an odd glint in his eye. "Does she ever imagine any scenarios where she was someone else? Does she ever imagine that she lived in a rural place like this? Does she ever wish she was back at her previous home? Does she ever wish she didn't know the people around her? Does she ever imagine that she did something amazing with the use of her brain? Does she ever imagine that she gained her status through achievements later in her life rather than it being ascribed it at birth? Does she ever imagine the other lives she would have if things played out a little differently before? Does she—"

"Stop."

Bill fell silent at your steely response. You avoided his eye contact by scowling down at the grass.

You didn't like how he was talking like he knew your every thought. It wasn't nice, being told what you thought and how you felt. Although he was only implying it, he was still rubbing you the wrong way.

You looked up at the triangle with a glare. While Bill silently peered down at you in both mild surprise and piqued interest, eye opened wide. Due to him being a triangle with no lips, it was a bit hard to infer his emotions. Though, even so, you could still feel them to a small extent. You didn't understand it, and you suspected that his feelings didn't just end there. Nevertheless, you chose your next response based on what this intuitive feeling told you.

"Just get to the point already. What are you offering me if I do this for you?" you asked, folding your arms and confidently looking Bill in the eye. Bill lowered his eyelid, mood turning serious before jumping right into his explanation, now devoid of the optimistic and cheerful tone that he retained before.

"In return for helping me with my little errands, I can offer just about anything you can ask for. Help me, help you! You're depressed, right? How about I offer you the chance to go back in time, back to when you were just a little ankle-biter? I'll alter your future to how you see fit and cater to what you ask...I'll also ensure that you forget any _undesirable_ memories."

"I'm not depressed," you disputed with a warning glare.

"Suit yourself," Bill shrugged, "...so do we have a deal?"

"Is what I'm going to do for you dangerous?" you quizzed after a brief pause.

"We all have a different definition of the word."

You frowned at him. You certainly didn't like his response. You then began to wonder if you were going to be putting your life on the line by agreeing to his conditions.

Bill suddenly bust out into laughter, "Of course not, kid! You'll be perfectly safe! Oh, your face!"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. Typical of him. You were now beginning to think that Bill could be quite annoying when he wanted to be.

"And how do I know you'll keep your word?" you asked, moving on from the last question.

"You sure do like to cross the t's and dot the i's, don't ya kid?" he remarked. "Our agreement will be official. When you shake my hand, neither of us can go back on our side of the deal. Neither of us can bend the terms of it, nor deny that it ever even happened. It can be called off, but only in the event that one of us can't hold up their end of the bargain. And I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't take very kindly to that. If there's one thing I take seriously, it's the deals I make."

You mulled over Bill's words, finding no obvious flaw in them. He sounded honest, and the deal seemed pretty reliable from the way he described it. You wondered if it was a sacred thing or not.

"So what about it, doll? We have a deal?"

Bill's hand then set aflame, cyan fire emitting from his small hand. He held his hand out to you, staring you down with anticipation.

You hesitated, feeling yet another sense of déjà vu. However, you couldn't put the pieces together to apply any memory to it. It made you suspicious.

Yet, you gazed at the flames with an almost childlike wonder. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds, dimming the area around you. The brightest light came from Bill's hand, the fire giving off a soft blue glow. A faint heat emitted from it, pulling you in and making you feel warm and cozy inside. Like a thick winter blanket wrapped around your shoulders, or a hot cup of cocoa warming you from the inside. It made you feel calm and secure.

"Come on, toots. I'm a busy guy, and I don't have all day!" he said, impatiently hurrying you along.

"Mr. Cipher, this deal is amazing..." you started, thinking about the possible sweet scenarios that were now within arms reach.

Reliving your childhood would be so nice. Life seemed much simpler and carefree back then. Barely anything to worry about. You would have another life, another world.

"...But it's out of the question."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (May, 5th 2019): It's here! Oh, it's finally here!! The chapter I've been itching to write for so long! I'm so happy that I've been able to introduce Bill fully and give him his full debut! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked really hard to make it as refined and satisfying as possible! I left quite a lot of symbolism in this chapter, so for anyone wanting to pick apart this chapter, pay attention to the things in the meadow and the lyrics in the song! It may give you a few hints for the future, but beware, I sometimes tend to put a few red herrings here and there, just to purposefully throw you off. But if anyone has any theories or thoughts to anything regarding the plot and/or the characters, I would love to hear them (even if you speculate that you may be wrong)! I love to overthink about these sort of things and explore deeper meanings!
> 
> I'm now trying to edit the previous chapters so you may notice some minor changes. This may be a slight change in character dialogue, change in terminology, new paragraphs, some things being removed, errors being fixed, etc. I will let you all know in the next chapter if I have managed to finish editing and whether or not you may want to go reread the previous chapters. So far, I have changed the blurb and the introduction. Expect to see the previous chapters get updated soon!
> 
> This story is now a series! Now and then I’ll be uploading other stuff to pair with this story, such as poems, prequels for the characters and maybe a few mini-sequels depending on how I feel at the end of this story! Two are already on there so go check them out if you haven't already!
> 
> Thanks for reading, nerds!
> 
> \- YandereswithKnives


	14. ▲ Cipher Arc - Chapter 12: The Voice ▲

**   
**

** Cipher Arc: The Voice **

* * *

You let out a loud growl as you heard the sound of two pots being bashed together near your room. The sound got louder and louder until you heard the door swing open as the bashing suddenly entered your room.

You angrily sat up in your bed and opened your eyes to be met with an unpleasant sight. Noah was standing near your door with two steel pans his hands. He was obnoxiously bashing them together, making an infuriating racket that was giving you a headache. You scowled at your cousin until he stopped.

"I'm off to work. So get up, get dressed, and do something with your day!"

"Fuck off," you grunted, lying back down.

"Get up!"

"No."

You then heard him come stomping over to your bed and you quickly scrambled to grab the covers. Yet it turned out that you had fallen asleep on top of the sheets. That must have explained why you were so cold.

Noah obnoxiously bashed the two pans right beside your left ear. You considered grabbing them and flinging them across the room, but you were too tired ever to consider that.

"You're the devil..." you mumbled, too tired to start yelling, feeling a migraine coming on.

"Welcome to Hell. Now, come on! Get up and go eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Feel lucky that I'm in a good mood today and that I was kind enough to make it for you."

Good mood? When was Noah _ever_ in a good mood? He had roughly three emotions: anger, boredom, and annoyance.

You stubbornly lay on the bed, not moving an inch. You furrowed your eyebrows when Noah looked you over with a raised eyebrow. You looked up at him with a glare, " _What_?"

"You seem different," he commented.

"Huh...?"

"You look the same..." he mused as he continued to gaze at you, while you gave him an odd look.

"What on earth are you talking about? You're being weird..."

He shrugged, "I dunno. Besides being slightly huffy, you're acting the same, and I don't notice any massive differences in your appearance. Though you just seem different. I can't explain it, but I guess it must be nothing...nevermind."

You watched him leave the room, feeling puzzled. You shook off his words and got up, dragging your body off the bed and shielding your eyes from the glaring overhead light that shone down on you like an unwelcome stage light.

You rubbed your aching muscles as you got up, rubbing mostly your neck and shoulders. It looked like you had fallen asleep in an odd position, so that explained why you were stiff in some areas.

You thought back to last night, wondering how on earth you ended up lying on your belly, on top of the covers with a craned neck. You were aware that you shifted around a lot at night, but you didn't usually move that much.

 _'Damn its cold in here...'_ you thought as you put your robe on, shivering at the cold temperature in your room. You then checked the window to see if you accidentally left it open last night. Though, as you saw, it was not open, since not once during your whole stay thus far, had you ever opened that window.

You left your room and suddenly noticed a sudden rise in temperature as you entered the hallway. Your bedroom was ice cold, but the corridor outside your room was regular room temperature. You glanced back at your room, wondering if there was a draft entering the room from outside. You shook it off and went downstairs to go get your breakfast. You entered the kitchen and looked down at your bowl, suddenly getting angry when you saw that you had been given half of a large grapefruit. It was topped in sugar and was sitting in the bowl with pink grapefruit juice collecting at the bottom.

 _'What the hell was all that bullshit about the food getting cold? Oh, I could just strangle that guy!'_ you thought as you flopped down on the seat and picked up the grapefruit spoon and dug in.

Once you finished your meal, you got ready to go to the gym. You finished your breakfast and headed to the bathroom to cleanse your face and brush your teeth.

You felt like crap. Your head throbbed, you felt a bit nauseous, and you were fatigued. You gazed at your reflection and noticed the bags under your eyes. For a moment, you wondered how and why you had bags when you had a reasonably good sleep schedule. That was until you recalled the previous night. The memory of it came flooding into your mind, throwing you into a state of shock and almost getting you to forget about the pain in your head and stomach.

Noah caused you to pass out. The blue flames, his golden eyes, and his weird behavior. You fell forward onto the mattress after the blue flames appeared. After that, you were out cold and then had that strange dream. You were having trouble remembering what happened exactly, but maybe it would come to you. Yet, that was the last thing on your mind. You wanted to know what the hell happened last night.

You leaned against the wall, letting out a sigh and running your hands down your face. You took a few breaths, before finally composing yourself.

_'Okay, plan. I'll ask him about it when he gets home. I'm not going to stay in this house if he's got some dangerous magical powers that could potentially harm me.'_

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You observed the forest around you, looking at every little thing from left to right. Now that you were aware of the forest's strange inhabitants, you couldn't help but see it differently. By no means did you no longer find it creepy. The idea of strange and mythical creatures living in the trees and under the rocks made you feel even more uneasy but you couldn't deny that you were intrigued beyond belief. Mostly since you had no idea what you would run into and when. Though, you were also a bit concerned whether what you could potentially come aross would be dangerous or not. Forget about rattlesnakes, poisonous spiders, wolves, and bears; there were far more dangerous things for you to be worried about. You could have another run-in with the gnomes, get chased by a tall giant, get your leg bitten off by a camouflaged living campfire or be grabbed by some ominous creature in the shadows.

Though, you were happy to discover that your walk was undisturbed by whatever creatures may have been watching you from amongst the trees. You wandered into town and made your way along the sidewalk to the gym. As usual, you felt eyes on you from every direction, and, as usual, you ignored it.

You were used to having people stare at you. You had come to terms with the reality that people would stare at you regardless of whether you liked it or not. When you were 11, you asked your dad why everyone always stared at you after you began to notice that you would always have eyes on you when in public. Every time you asked your dad, he would always reply with the same response: 'because you're special.' His answer would always annoy you since it was always the same and always so vague. He refused to explain what exactly he meant by that, though, you were able to figure it out on your own in time.

You had been stared at more frequently in Gravity Falls, compared to back home. Though, that wasn't to say that people didn't stare at you back in Florida. A smaller town means a smaller number of people, and a smaller number of people means smaller minds and smaller chances of seeing something that differs from the norm. In other words, you were something different to gaze at—a pretty girl.

You don't always have to be pretty for people to think you're pretty. There were plenty of attractive people who didn't take care of themselves and immediately got labeled as ugly just because they stunk of BO and wore clothes that made them look like they grew up in an abandoned warehouse eating day-old samosas. While on the other hand, there were plenty of people that you didn't think were reasonably attractive but just got labeled as such due to the fact they wore luxury clothes that complimented their appearance and made sure to wear lots of makeup to hide blemishes. People don't pay attention to these things in passing until they properly look at you. A lot of people who got a lot of attention didn't usually have much natural beauty. Those people were often the ones who usually got told that they were hot. You didn't have to be pretty to be hot; you just had to be visually alluring in some manner, primarily around the torso or lower area.

As for you, you were fortunate enough to be both pretty _and_ hot. You were born pretty, but you weren't born reasonably hot. Your ass was out of shape, and you were slightly overweight in early life. Though, it didn't last long. In fact, as soon as you turned six, your mom got you a personal trainer and a dietitian so you could lose the weight around your belly, face, and legs so she could enroll you into the child beauty pageants. Unfortunately, beauty is more of a full-time job rather than a gift from God. You need to work hard for it and maintain it, even through tough times like puberty and ageing. You slack off, your appearance takes a toll.

You ignored people's gazes and carried on walking. You kept your eyes ahead, paying no mind to the people who turned their heads and odd person who started catcalling.

**_'Do they have anything better to do than stare?'_ **

You almost stopped for a second. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up, and you looked around trying to find the source of the voice. No one seemed to have been looking in your direction waiting for a response, so therefore, no one must have spoken to you. Though you were pulled out of your thoughts when you began to smell cannabis. Not too long after that, you heard someone call out your name.

"Hey, (Name)!"

You heard someone else mutter a swear under their breath, followed by a chuckle from the other party. You glanced to your left to see Lee leaning on the wall with a big cheeky grin on his face. Next to him was Nate, looking uncomfortable. Both of them were leaning against the wall of the gym, smoking joints. No doubt that they were the ones who were responsible for the smell.

"Oh, hey you too," you smiled as you approached the duo.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Lee beamed as he took a small glance at Nate. You got the feeling something was up, but you chose to ignore it.

"Haha, yeah," you smiled, "how are you?"

"Meh, we're good. Just mulling about before we head back home," Lee shrugged, before bringing the joint up to his lips. You watched him inhale the smoke before blowing it out like dragon breath. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired," you replied with a smile. "Is it just you two or is the rest of the group with you?"

"Nah, it's just us. Robbie prefers to spend his holiday in his room with Tambry doing God knows what. Thompson is probably at home gardening or knitting scarf with his stupid grandmother or something and Wendy...uh...where is Wendy actually?" Lee questioned, looking to Nate for help.

"I think she's at her summer job. Y'know...working for uh, 'what's his face."

"Oh, yeah!" Lee exclaimed with a sudden realization. "God, imagine having a summer job?" he mused with a frown.

Nate nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I could never do it. Though apparently, she's earning money for that university she wants to go to."

"She's earning tuition fees?" you chimed in.

"Yeah. The university she wants to get into is asking for a lot. Too much for her dad to afford so she has to use the time over the summer—and probably the school semester as well—to finance her tuition fees," Nate explained.

You pondered his words for a minute. Wendy must have been struggling for money if she had to work to get to university. You wondered if she would be okay in the long run if she were already having trouble with the costs since she would have to pay back the loan later into adulthood. You would never be faced with that problem since your dad was already talking about financing everything for university. A university that was likely to be something along the lines of Stanford, Harvard or Yale. Maybe it was inconsiderate that you didn't think much of the things around you. In the eyes of Noah and probably many others around you, you lived in a bubble.

"Damn..." you muttered, more to yourself than anyone.

"Woah (Name), you've got bags under your eyes. Have you not been getting enough sleep?"

"I didn't sleep well last night; I got woken up and...yeah..."

Lee chuckled, "God, you're almost as bad as Robbie. Though, it's pretty obvious _he_ stays awake on purpose..."

"Why on earth would he...?"

"We have no idea," Nate shrugged.

An awkward silence then passed with no one speaking for a full minute. You were staring off into the distance, and Lee, and Nate continued to suck at their joints. It was then you decided that it would be best to bid your farewells to the two boys and burn some calories. Though just before you could open your mouth, you saw Lee nudge Nate and give him a look. You looked in their direction in suspicion as you met Nate's eyes, causing him to tense and straighten up.

"Uh, (Name)?"

"Hm?"

"I'm hosting a Summerween party at my place in a few weeks. Do you wanna come?"

"Uh, Summerween?" you asked, confused.

"Oh, it's this annual celebration that we have here in Gravity Falls. It's basically just a shitty remake of Halloween that takes place in the summer. You just dress up in costumes and carve watermelons or whatever."

You chuckled, "God, who made that a thing?"

"Everyone. Because they love Halloween so much."

You rolled your eyes with a grin, "Sounds terrible, I'll come!"

"Great! I'll give you my number so I can text you my address closer to the time."

You nodded and took out your phone and exchanged numbers with Nate. He was smiling the whole time and appeared quite giddy when exchanging numbers while Lee just smirked from behind.

"Well, I guess I'll see you two later."

"Yeah, see ya!" Nate beamed as Lee gave you a silent wave.

As soon as you entered the gym, you passed by a mirror hanging on the wall. You spared a quick moment to look at your eyes again to see the dark shadows of red and purple under them. You sighed, recalling the recent memories of seeing your mom standing in front of the mirror and gazing at the bags under her eyes. It was ironic how you were now the one in her position doing the exact same thing she was doing before you left the house. You were always the one to lecture her about her lack of sleep. Now, you were pathetically rubbing the shadows under your eyes as if that were going to be any help.

You frowned at your appearance. You really did look different. Nothing about you seemed to have changed, but you felt different, and your reflection suddenly looked strange to you. It didn't seem like Lee and Nate noticed anything, but there again, they had only known you for a day. How on earth would they be able to tell the difference?

You looked away from the mirror and walked towards the changing room. You passed by the reception desk and swiped your card to get through the gate, walking over to the door adjacent to the desk.

Hanging on the wall inside the changing room was a fitness poster. On it, was a photograph of a pretty field taken in what looked to be the Swiss Alps or somewhere similar. The words were a stupid motivational quote about living a healthier lifestyle and not giving up. Though you stopped to study it for a moment, paying more attention to the image rather than the words written across it.

_You were in a field. You were asleep, and then you woke up. You woke up to find yourself alone. You were sitting in the meadow, and the sun was shining. There was a soft breeze, a stream, a nearby forest, and flowers._

_Yellow flowers._

You were taken out of your thoughts when you heard the door open. A woman entered, and you both shared polite smiles. You let out a quiet sigh before walking over to one of the lockers to put your stuff away.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"I'm back!"

You put down your book and got up off your bed, going downstairs. Noah was in the kitchen munching an apple. As soon as you entered the kitchen, he smiled at you.

"Hey (Name), how do you feel about going out for a meal?" Noah asked.

You raised an eyebrow at his sudden suggestion. Why was he so happy? Noah was never happy.

"Going out for a meal?"

"Yeah."

"Where would we be going?"

"There's a diner near the edge of town. Thought we could have something sweet for dinner or something."

You frowned, "I'm not eating cheap food."

"You've been eating the stuff from the supermarket," he challenged.

"Yeah, only because I would starve otherwise. My body is a temple, and I don't wish to fill it with cheap crap," you replied, folding your arms.

"Geez, get off your high horse. Lazy Susan does nice food for a reasonable price. God, you sound like one of the Northwests..." he commented, muttering the last part.

"One of the who now?" you questioned.

"Nevermind. Just get ready to go out. I'm really happy today, and I want to celebrate!"

"What are we celebrating exactly?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at his remark.

"I'll explain later. Now come on and get ready!" Noah smiled as he dashed past you and upstairs to his room.

You were left standing there, feeling very confused. First, there was him acting strange, then he got angry with you, then there was last night and now...this.

You stared at the floor, feeling more concerned than delighted by Noah's sudden change of mood. What on earth could have happened? Did he get a promotion? Did he suddenly win the lottery? Whatever it was, it had gotten him to smile, something that he was almost incapable of doing. Noah (Surname) had the personality of a rock, what more could be said?

It seemed as if you would have to wait to see what had brought this on.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You followed Noah into the diner, looking around. You were put off by the building's appearance—both inside and outside—and you didn't like the weird, wax smell that drifted from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm definitely not liking this place. I mean, if the name 'Greasy's Diner' wasn't off-putting enough. Way to attract customers..." you remarked. Noah just clicked his tongue at your comment, sitting down at a free booth.

"Do you do anything besides whine?" he sighed.

"I have standards, you know? I'm sorry if I'm not some poor person who mulls about in the corner of some less-than-mediocre diner."

"Then if that's the case, then why didn't you just stay at home?" he scoffed, glaring at you. Noah appeared to be getting aggravated with your complaints, so you decided to shut up. Though, your answer to that would have been obvious; you clearly had no choice either way, he practically dragged you here.

You grumbled to yourself and gazed out of the window while Noah picked up a menu. As you stared out of the window, your mind drifted elsewhere. Slowly, you zoned out and began to think.

_There was a forest to your left. You could hear a voice talking to you in the wind. The world slowed down, and the world turned monochrome. You were standing there alone in a field talking to someone. You were talking to someone. Wait no, not someone; you were talking to...talking to...talking to..._

"(Name)... _(Name)_!"

You blinked, snapping out of your daze, "What?"

"What do you want?" Noah asked. Your gaze moved from Noah to your left, looking at the waitress standing by your table with a notepad. Her blue eyes were looking down at you with boredom as she waited for you to relay your order. You quickly snapped back to reality, grabbed the menu, and quickly scanned the deserts section.

"I'll have the chocolate brownie with chocolate ice-cream, thanks," you quickly recited, not wanting to waste any more time. The young girl nodded and wrote down your order.

"Do you want any drinks?"

"Just water."

"Pitt Cola."

You and Noah both looked at each other with confusion, after hearing each other's order. You looked at him like a psycho for just ordering water, while he looked at you with a knowing look.

"Coming right up. Do you want ice and lemon with the drink?"

"Yeah," you confirmed, gazing at the waitress again. This time, you scanned her more closely. She was younger than you, around the age of 14 or 15. She had blonde hair that was messily tied up in a hairnet and wore a pink uniform with a white apron around the front. You gazed at her face for a second, feeling like you had seen her somewhere before. You looked her nametag, seeing 'Pacifica' written across the white plastic in scratchy, blue biro.

The blonde girl seemed to have been studying you as well in the short window of time that had passed. You watched her gaze travel to your clothes of jeans, silver wedge sandals and a white Bucci top with a black choker and sapphire studs. She appeared to take an interest in your appearance, but no words were spoken as she took one final glance at your face and walking away to the kitchen.

"She seemed to linger for a bit. Do you know her?"

"She looks familiar, but I don't think so. Do you?"

"Not personally. She's Preston's kid."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" you sighed.

"No. Though, apparently before I moved here, the Northwests used to be the richest family in town and used to own this big estate with a rich history. Though they lost almost all their money a few years ago and were forced to sell their house. Now their big mansion is owned by some weird, old guy and his son."

"How did they lose their money?"

Noah shrugged, "Not sure. Dan told me it was loan sharks."

"Loan sharks? _Here_?" you asked, looking skeptical.

"I know as much as you do. Though I do admit; I did think it was kind of strange too..."

"I don't believe that. It's too creative of a story; it's definitely been made up. It was probably a scandal or a fuck-up of some description. Trust me, it aways comes down to those two options at the end of the day. Wealthy people love telling stories to the public to shirk the blame or throw a pity party to keep up an appearance."

"Well, if you want to know about it so badly, why don't you ask? She's just over there," Noah replied, pointing across the room. You turned around for a brief moment, looking at Pacifica serve tables.

You turned back around with a look of skepticism, "Oh yeah, I bet that would go down well. 'Hey, you! I heard that your family is now broke and that you had to sell your house! Wanna talk about that?'"

"God..." Noah muttered, chuckling, "I can only imagine her face."

"I wonder if she'd start yelling? Or slap me?" you pondered, chuckled along with him.

"Maybe go red and punch you?" he joked.

"Probably, knowing my luck!" you laughed.

Noah chuckled, "Black sheep."

"Hey! Don't call me that! Jesus, you haven't called me that since we were little!"

"Yeah well, I'm bringing it back. You're still the black sheep of the family," Noah smirked.

"I am not! If that's anyone, that's you now! I fit in!"

"Nah, you'll never fit in. You'll forever be the black sheep," he teased.

"Shut up! I'm not a black sheep..." you pouted.

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night," he smirked, rolling his eyes.

Pacifica then returned with your drinks, giving Noah his water and your Pitt Cola. You took a sip, happily drinking the drink that was slowly becoming your favorite.

"I just realized that you and I hadn't had the chance to catch up properly."

"No, I guess we haven't," you muttered, stirring the ice around the glass.

"So fill me in on everything going on with you."

"Well...where do I even start? Um..." you paused, thinking of something, to begin with. "Well...I'm now going into my final year of high school."

"That's good," he replied, and you nodded, feeling the atmosphere become very awkward. "Are you still doing beauty pageants?"

"No, but I've got a part-time job as a model. I pose for perfume commercials and beauty magazines."

"Wow, really? I mean, back then it seemed to me like you would have been put off for life considering..." Noah trailed off reluctant to mention anything else, but you knew what he was referencing.

"Yeah, I know. I was put off at first, but I got over it and warmed up to the idea. Things are alright now," you reassured with a smile.

You and Noah chatted for a few minutes, catching up and filling each other in on everything that happened in the years that you hadn't seen each other. The conversation went well, but you stopped when your food arrived.

"Here's your cherry pie, and the chocolate brownie," Pacifica smiled, placing down both dishes. You looked over the food with a critical eye.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked. You glanced up at the blonde, not missing the sight when she gazed at you again, similar to how she did when taking your order. Was it possible she recognized you as well? If that was the case, then where did you know her from?

"Nah, we're good thanks."

Pacifica nodded before walking away back over to the counter. You watched her leave as she wandered over to the counter to start talking to a plump, elderly woman with large curly hair. You shook off the familiarity of her appearance and turned your attention to your meal and the next topic of conversation.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Amelia?" you asked, scooping up some of your ice-cream.

Out of your peripheral, you saw Noah suddenly look up at you. You could feel his look of shock and how tense he was. You weren't expecting him to react any differently, but the topic had been bothering you ever since you had arrived.

"Well...we broke up."

You gave him a look, "Yes, I know _that_. But how did it happen? What caused it?"

Noah let out a sigh and quietly cursed. You watched him fidget in his seat and start playing with his fork, softly stabbing it into the pie. There was a conflicted look on his face, and he seemed tense and uncomfortable.

"I suppose it's about time I tell you..." he replied, playing about with one of the cherries on his plate. "This happened a few months ago, around the end of March. I had just got home from work, and Lia was sitting in the garden. At first, I wasn't too sure what she was doing, but when I went over, she told me that she was looking at our bills that arrived that morning. For the past few months, we had been getting into arguments about the silliest of things—finances being one of them. She always seemed so stressed about everything, and had been avoiding me. I was so confused about what I had done to upset her since she would always end up yelling at me. Yet, this seemed to be the thing that made the final push, I suppose."

You stayed quiet, carefully listening to his words. From the sound of it, it seemed like something was going on behind the scenes, but you remained silent and decided to keep your questions until the end.

"Since I lost my car, I had to buy the truck I have now. Unfortunately, I had no time to travel about and buy a new vehicle from out of town and have it taken here, so I was forced to buy it from Bud Gleeful for a stupid price. At this time Amelia had quit her job. The company she worked at had gone into administration, and things were looking bleak, so she left after an argument with her boss. We were struggling for money, and she was looking over the bills. She started complaining about why we were left with so little, and I had to explain to her that we needed to cut down on costs because I was the only one employed. I didn't know why we were left almost penniless when I was going to extreme measures to not end up like that while Lia was looking for a new job. I saw the bills, and there was all this stuff that she had bought, stuff that we didn't even need. I questioned her why on earth she was buying so much crap."

Noah sighed and ran his hand through his hair. You watched silently, waiting for him to continue.

**_'Bla, bla, bla. Does he ever stop talking? You should eat that brownie before it gets cold.'_ **

You jumped, glancing around. There it was again, that same voice. Where was it coming from?

"When she didn't give me a straight answer, I got angry, and then we began arguing. One thing led to another and next thing I knew she had gone from throwing shit at me to storming upstairs and coming down with a full suitcase. Of course, there was a part of me that was scared that she would leave and never come back, yet, the other half of me thought that this was just another one of her dramatic fits. Admittedly, it wasn't the first time Amelia had walked out with a suitcase, but those times she would always come back in floods of tears or would just walk straight past me and up to her room without a word, leaving the mutual apologizing until the following morning. Though, unbeknownst to me at the time, she really was going..." he sighed before continuing. "As usual, I tried to reason with her and appeal to her better judgment, to get her to stop acting on impulse and be rational. Although, this didn't work, and she just shoved me out of the way before marching out of the door. Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks. I've lost count of how many times I tried to call her, but she never picked up.

"Though, a week later I got a call from her, confirming that she wasn't coming back and that she would be picking up the rest of her stuff later in the year. I took the chance to ask her what I did wrong, but her response was vague, talking about how I'm like a ticking time bomb and that she didn't want to live with me if I couldn't support her financially. Obviously, this was ridiculous since she was the one who didn't have a job and was racking up the bills with God knows what—spending _my_ money! I got angry with her after that, and that was the last I heard from her. I'm just waiting for her to show up and collect the rest of her stuff...whenever that'll be..."

Noah then started nibbling at his pie as you thought up a response. His long monologue had undoubtedly made way for questions, but you decided only to ask some of the ones that surfaced in your mind.

"What was Amelia buying?"

"Can't remember," he shrugged, stabbing his fork into the pastry.

"O-Oh..." you replied, pausing for a moment before asking your second question. "Do you know why she was so stressed all of the time?"

"No clue."

You nodded, letting the conversation die and silence take its place. You ate your brownie, ignoring the lack of richness in the chocolate.

You cut your brownie into tiny triangles that you could dip into the ice-cream. Your eyes were boring holes into the slices, staring at them so intently.

_You were talking to a triangle. A yellow triangle with one eye and a bow tie. You had tea with him, and he asked you if you could help him out. He asked if you were interested in making a deal._

_But you refused._

**~oOo~**

_Bill silently stared down at you while you turned away and folded your arms, observing your surroundings. It was a tough call, but accepting his offer would be a silly decision on your part._

_"You know, kid...I'm not one to mess around. I'm offering you literal gold dust here. You sure you want to turn it down?" Bill inquired, floating closer. You merely gave him a sideways glance, looking skeptical. "I can do much more than what I offered ya. If you want something else, then just say the word, and I can make that happen! I can look into your future...can spice it up a little too...bring someone back from the dead...get you your own island...make someone fall in love with you...I can even look deep into your heart and soul and see who you really are inside...the list goes on."_

_"Look. I really appreciate the offer, and God knows I'm really thankful that you're willing to do something like that for me, but I just can't accept it. I mean, no offense...but I don't know anything about you. You may know loads about me, but it doesn't change the fact that we're both complete strangers. If anything, the fact that you somehow know so much about me and that you're some mysterious, magical entity from another dimension that literally just popped out of nowhere makes me even more skeptical of you. It's just..." you let out a sigh, "...this whole thing is just far too surreal for me to take in..." you explained. The flames from Bill's hand disappeared as he retracted his hand. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not intentionally making negative assumptions, it's just that I don't know the first thing about you..." you admitted, looking up at Bill, hoping that he wouldn't snap his fingers and let you burn in that blue fire of his._

_Bill immediately flipped around, back now facing you. No words were spoken as he seemed to be mulling over your words. You watched his arms move, seemingly rubbing his hands together. You couldn't see his expression, but you got the impression that he had a face of deep contemplation or some variant of a frown. A few seconds passed until he spoke again._

_"Alright, kid....how about this?" he began, suddenly flipping back around, "I give you some time to think it over. During that time, how about we get to know each other a bit? Y'know, a bit of ol' demon to person bonding, huh? And after that, maybe you can reconsider my offer. But if your answer still stands the same, I'll leave you alone."_

_You thought about his new proposal, mulling over his words. What you said was by no means an invite for him to get to know you on a personal level, yet it seemed as if he had misinterpreted your words anyway. You gazed down at the grass, thinking it over in your head. After ten seconds of thinking, your gaze met Bill's again, and you gave him your response._

_"Okay. We can get to know each other for a week, and I'll let you know how I feel after that. But only for a week at the longest! After that, you must promise to leave me alone and find someone else to help you out if my answer remains the same."_

_Bill's eye crinkled as he quickly floated down and held his hand, enthusiastically. His hand caught fire once more, blue flames illuminating his figure in a soft blue glow._

_"Deal!"_

_You confidently grasped his outstretched hand, looking him in the eye. An odd surge of electricity passed through your arm and down your body. You unconsciously shivered at the sensation as you let go of Bill's hand._

_"Welp!" Bill exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "It seems we're out of time doll!"_

_"What? Already? We've been here for like...what...twenty minutes?"_

_"Dreams don't give a clear representation of the passage of time in the waking world. In your case, you have been here for a total of 24 minutes and 44 seconds. That translates to just over four hours in real-time," Bill shrugged. "There's a complicated equation to work out how much time has passed in your world. But unless you're some dull egghead who loves math more than their own sanity, then I'm not going to explain all that to you. That's information that's way ahead of your time anyway! Let's just leave all of that to Tyrone M.P!" he laughed._

_"Who's Ty—"_

_"Well, I best be off! Busy guy; places to be, people to see, yada, yada! But hey, if you're in a crisis, give me a call! Just call out my name three times!"_

_"Yeah...oka—"_

_"Though..." he stated, mulling over something. You raised an eyebrow, giving him a look. "On second thought...I might have to contact you myself, knowing you..."_

_"What do you mean, 'knowing you'? You don't even—"_

_"Don't worry yourself toots—"_

_"Stop interrupting me!"_

_The triangle snicked while you glared up at him in annoyance._

_"Time to go, doll! I guess I'll see you later on!"_

_"Or y'know...maybe not?" you shrugged, giving him a look._

_Bill cackled, "Farewell!"_

_You didn't respond as Bill slowly disappeared in a beam of bright light as your vision suddenly began to darken. Suddenly, you fell backward into darkness, losing grip on your surroundings._

**~oOo~**

You blinked, recalling your final conversation with the creature. The whole dream was odd. The triangle was weird, and what he talked about was strange too. You had been reading the journal before you went to bed, so maybe your subconscious mind created Bill Cipher after you fell asleep.

_'I could check that journal for records on Bill Cipher. If there's nothing in there, then I guess it'll be safe to assume that it was just a dream projecting creations from my vivid imagination.'_

Though there was one thing that you were sure that you didn't imagine.

"Noah?"

"Hm?"

"Last night, when you came into my room..." you began, pushing your half-eaten brownie to the side. Noah looked confused, but you carried on anyway. "You woke me up and said you wanted to talk about that thing that had been bothering you—"

"What are you talking about?"

"What you were talking about last night. Don't you remember?" you asked, but just as Noah opened his mouth to respond, you stopped him. "Nevermind, just let me finish. You came into my room and started talking. You went on about...stuff and asked me to keep everything between you and me..." you looked at Noah to see him staring at you, looking quite confused.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking—"

"But that's not what I wanted to talk about. You asked me to make a deal with you, and we shook hands. Only, when we did, your hand was _on fire_. _Blue fire_. After that, I passed out on the bed. So...care to _explain_?" you accused, crossing your arms.

At first, Noah looked dumbfounded. He looked both shocked and confused, trying to make sense of what you had just said. After a few seconds of silence, his expression changed. He didn't say anything and only stared at you with an unreadable expression.

"(Name)..." he began with a sigh, "I know you've just been told about the supernatural, and basically just had life-changing knowledge just dumped upon you, but this sounds a little silly. I don't have any form of magical powers if that's what you're thinking..."

"Noah, I wouldn't be saying this if I wasn't serious right now. By no means is this a joke or me having too much to drink. Last night, your hand was on fire!"

"You were dreaming."

"No, I wasn't! I know I was awake because I'm super tired and have bags under my eyes."

"I can't see anything," he commented.

"That's because I'm wearing makeup!"

Noah then waved over Pacifica and asked her for the bill. You sat there in annoyance, feeling unsatisfied with the outcome of the recent conversation. Noah turned back to look at you, seeing you with a grumpy expression.

Noah sighed, "Look, I think you were just tired or were more likely dreaming. I don't recall anything like that happening last night."

You rolled your eyes and didn't respond. Even if you did want to believe what Noah said, it still didn't explain how you ended up on top of the sheets, rather than under them, like how you always slept. You decided to drop it, seeing as though there wasn't anything else you could do that didn't involve making a scene. It seemed unlikely that you were going to get an answer to that one.

After Noah paid the bill, you left the diner, walking out into the town as the sun began to set, coloring the sky pink and orange. You walked over to Noah's truck that was parked in the car park. Once you got in, a thought came to you.

"Hey, you never told me why we went out today."

"Oh, didn't I? Well, for one, I'm getting a pay rise, so that's definitely something to be happy about right?" he smiled as he started the engine and reversed out of the bay. "But, I've finally gotten rid of something that has been bugging me for a while now."

"Which is...?"

"It's nothing you should be concerned about, don't worry. It's just this thing that has been putting me under stress. But the good news now is that it's gone and I'll have more time to relax and stop worrying about things that don't deserve my attention. I'll be taking some time off work soon so I'll finally be at home for a while. You still like hiking, right?"

"Yeah, why?" you inquired, wondering where the sudden question came from.

"Well, now that I've fixed one problem, I was thinking you, and I could do some stuff when I'm free. Gravity Falls has some rocky cliffs that are good for hiking. Would you be interested?"

You were taken by surprise. You were shocked that your cousin would want to spend any time with you. Last time you checked, he didn't like you. You didn't have many fond memories with him, and you doubted he had many fond memories of you. Though, here he was, asking if you wanted to do something that you would both find nostalgic.

You smiled.

"Yeah."


	15. ▲ Cipher Arc - Chapter 13: Elucidation ▲

**Cipher Arc: **Elucidation****

* * *

Far away inside the Nightmare Realm, a palace floated through the air, turning and rotating in rhythm with the everflowing current. Colors meshed together in a distorted frenzy, swirling and fading into each other like paint on a canvas. Every color imaginable was mixed in, brightly illuminated, much like a sea of whirling colors.

The whole dimension was deathly silent, besides the howling wind that traveled amongst the confines of the realm from the outside. Wailing winds whistled gently like they would in a desolate desert sand storm or in the snowy Arctic amid a blizzard. The sound was almost haunting, a reminder of one's isolation while in the lawless dimension. All of the inhabitants were either in hiding, slavery or refused to stay any longer than they needed to.

The Nightmare Realm was dangerous. There was no up or down, no left or right — not even a right or wrong! The laws of physics were near nonexistent there. For example, no one cared about Newton's Law of Gravitation. First off, who the hell was Newton? And why the hell did he get to dictate what goes up and what doesn't? Gravity didn't exist in the Nightmare Realm, and anyone who lived there knew that — it was common knowledge. In fact, some even proposed the idea that Gravity didn't even exist on Earth either. That the humans were going about their lives believing a silly, little lie. A lie that Newton created, perhaps?

Then, of course, there was time. Though, unlike the rest of the laws, time was more of a controversial matter. Some believed it was there, and some thought that the Nightmare Realm was of a higher plane and wasn't bound by the physical laws of time like the other dimensions — one of the reasons why the Nightmare Realm was so utterly unique. Yet, no one was able to come to a definite conclusion because the realm was so bemusing. It messed with the mind, played tricks on the inhabitants, and in some cases, even drove some of them mad.

Yet, for Bill Cipher, the Nightmare Realm couldn't be any more like home. It was his kingdom, his playground; the place where he could do whatever he wanted without having to worry about the consequences. At least, for the time it was there.

The Nightmare Realm was dying. It was fated to collapse in on itself and be entirely wiped from existence. The delicate walls were cracking, and the dense air was rotting. Nothing could stop what was to come so anyone who had made their bed, would now have to lie in it, forced to watch their home eat them up like a cottage sitting on the tongue of a whale. Yet, it was a shame many of the residents were unaware of their impending doom. Mount Vesuvius was ready to erupt, and everyone in Pompeii would soon fall to its mercy.

Although the lack of laws in the Nightmare Realm was indeed exciting, and certainly an experience of fun for some, it didn't do well for the realm's growth. Like a child without a parent, the Nightmare Realm was rouge and liked the fly of the handle, following its own rules; rules that often changed and made little to no sense at all. The Nightmare Realm was an Aries, a natural-born leader with a fiery passion and alluring, sensual beauty while being the most immature sign of the whole zodiac. And much like the dimension itself, it was only fitting that Bill himself was an Aries too. However, this was not the case.

Bill Cipher was a Scorpio.

A water sign with a strong passion that you would expect from a fire sign. Ruled by Mars, a planet of animal passion, volatile anger, and courage. And of course, Scorpio was also ruled by Pluto, the planet known for a force for change that can be destructive in its power, with a strong will, intense passion, and a reputation for ruthlessness.

"Hey! Aeryn!" Bill called out, letting his voice echo through the halls of the palace that he created for himself.

A young female scurried into the throne room and stood prim in the middle of the room before her master. Her posture was straight and formal, showing off her thin body. She was so thin; you could have easily mistaken her for a stick or a pole. Her legs were like twigs, easily breakable with one swift snap. Her skin was pale, pale as paper, bringing out the contrasting color of her smoky black hair that reached her shoulders. Her lips were as pale as the rest of her skin, and her three black eyes flicked in every direction, taking in all of her surroundings before settling on the golden triangle.

Bill was seated on his throne of swirling optical illusions, softly tapping his fingers against the wide arm of his chair. His gaze was cast down on his moving hand, expression bored and slightly troubled. He was in deep thought, that much was clear.

Aeryn stood on the glossy marble floor and gazed up at her lord. She was slightly flustered from having to run from the other side of the palace, but as usual, she was able to make it to the throne room in a matter of seconds. Adrenaline and dopamine were running through her body, and she had barely enough time to calm herself down and regain her composure. Yet, all of her worries were washed away when she laid her eyes on her master.

"Yes, my Cipher?" she inquired, awaiting her instructions.

"I'm going to be gone for a while. I need you to take care of everything here while I'm gone," Bill instructed, barely sparing Aeryn a glance.

Aeryn had to take a moment to shake off the sudden shock, "Of course, my Cipher. But may I ask where you will be going? You've just got back."

Aeryn suddenly bit her lip as soon as she saw Bill roll his eye. It was then she began to hope that she didn't anger him. One again, she had lost control of her curiosity and said one word too much.

"Where I am and what I'm doing doesn't concern _you_. I'll be gone for a while, and I need you to make sure the place remains in utter chaos and that everyone is still doing their job while I'm not here. I'm assuming you understand your role?" Bill asked, turning to meet Aeryn's eyes, looking down at her with a look of superiority and expectation.

"Of course. I am your consultant," she replied with pride.

Bill looked down at her with a look of aversion, " _No_...you're my _housekeeper_."

A frown remained on Bill's face, but he happily watched Aeryn's mood suddenly drop and expression melt into one of confusion and concern.

"B-But...B-But I thought—"

"B-B-But _nothing_!" Bill mocked. "You're my housekeeper. _Your_ job is to make sure everything stays the way I like it and to chip in with the housework every now and then when one of the other idiots has just gone and died."

Aeryn fell silent, not wishing to say anything that would further irritate her master. In truth, she had no idea what her role was. It seemed to change frequently, and she had trouble keeping up with it. Saying that she was his consultant was stupid and the longer she mulled over her own words, the more she felt like a complete idiot. She had no control over what she said, and she hated herself for it. Bill Cipher did not need to be _consulted_ by any means since he did all the thinking himself. The idea of having someone stand by him and advise him on what to do was unthinkable. Yet, Aeryn said it anyway. She had recently been helping Bill when he was planning, giving him some new ideas that he would then tweak to suit himself. Suppose a part of her hoped that Bill was warming up to her or that she had a shot at being something other than a retainer. Once again, she had gotten her hopes up and was left sorely disappointed.

"So, I'm going to be away for a while, official business and stuff. Let the others know that I'll be leaving shortly. I'll come back now and then to check in on the development, but I'll be gone for about two Earth months. If there are any issues concerning something, bring it up with Qhik. That's all."

Aeryn was left almost speechless but nodded anyway. It was all so sudden. Cipher had only just returned after so long. Aeryn wasn't sure how long precisely, since 'time' in the Nightmare Realm was entirely jumbled. Bill said that he had only been gone for two Earth years, but Aeryn had never visited Earth, so she didn't fully understand how long a year was. Yet despite this, she was able to make a rough guess.

In the Nightmare Realm, the passage of time was confusing since everything was so distorted. That was one of the reasons why some of the locals believed that the realm existed outside of the confines of time; uncontrolled by the baby that ran it. You could enter the dimension and stay for what felt like millions of years, but as soon as you leave, you find that barely a second has passed. Or on another occasion, you will enter it for only a split second, only to discover that you are thirteen years older as soon as you leave. The Nightmare Realm was fickle, with an unpredictable and almost contrary disposition. Though, the critics of the anti-time theory countered the argument with the fact that everyone didn't notice the passage of time because their perception of it was distorted by the energies of the realm. It seemed as if Bill Cipher was the only one who could make sense of the time anomaly, knowing precisely what to do when arriving and leaving.

Though, year, month, day or hour, in the time she experienced, Bill had been gone for a very long time. At one point there was news traveling the multiverse that he was dead. Gossip spread that he had died shortly after gaining a physical form and making his transition into the third dimension and onto the only planet that was capable of sustaining life — Earth.

Nevertheless, despite the naysayers and numerous rumors, here he was. Bill Cipher; back home like nothing had happened. It all happened so suddenly that everyone in the Nightmare Realm had barely any time to process it. Yet, for better or for worse, their king was back. Back to do...something.

Now here he was. Informing the young girl that after just getting back, he was departing again, like a sailor that refused to stay in one place.

As Aeryn turned to leave the room, she noticed that Bill had gone back to doing what he was doing before she came in. As quick as a flash, his attention had been stolen by his own inner thoughts once more. He was now staring into a floating ball, watching something that Aeryn was unable to see. The look in his eye told her that he was completely enraptured, which was a look that Aeryn rarely saw on Bill.

These days Bill spent so much time in his own head, he paid little attention to what was going on around him. Though, it wasn't like he was missing anything tremendously important. For the past who knows how long, his sole focus had been on that stupid little planet named after dirt. He was always plotting and planning; scheming, and analyzing. It was a mystery how he stored all of that knowledge in his little body.

Bill Cipher truly was something else. There were a billion words to describe him, but there was no word in existence that ultimately defined him or came even close to summing up his personality. He was an ancient entity, one of the oldest creatures in existence. No one knew what he was, where he came from, or why he was there. One day he arrived in the Nightmare Realm and took his spot as its ruler, making it his home. Though, anyone working under Bill knew he was dissatisfied. He wanted more. A stable dimension to call his permanent home.

Aeryn stole one last look at Bill before leaving the room. When would it be enough? When would he be satisfied? Aeryn had no idea. Either way, she would stand by him until the very end. Through thick and thin, she would be there by his side. Because when you walk with Bill Cipher, you walk down the road of gold.

The road to the edge of reality.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"Damn...poor Dallas. The man never had a chance," you commented, shaking your head at the TV screen.

"I don't think it really helped when he started walking _into_ the alien. The guy was going the wrong bloody way. What on earth was he even doing in that vent again?" Noah asked as he sat down.

"Oh, I think he was in there to burn it. Y'know, fry that thing like a pork chop," you smirked at the TV after taking a glance at Noah.

Noah raised an eyebrow at the screen, "Well he certainly didn't do a very good job. Barely even tried."

"I gotta say, that was the most unsatisfying death so far. You don't even see it happen," you grumbled, nibbling on some popcorn, "the alien just opened its arms for a hug."

"I gotta say, I'm surprised you liked the Alien franchise," Noah commented.

"Well, this is the first time I've properly watched the film. I do really like horror films in general, and this is sci-fi horror, so I'm definitely hooked," you smiled. "My mom watched the film when I was seven and allowed me to watch with her. Though, when it got to the part when the chestburster busted through the guy's chest, I ran out of the room scared. Then I came back in a few minutes later after calming down, only to run out again when the alien made its second kill," you chuckled.

"And this is why you shouldn't show seven-year-olds, R-rated films..." Noah replied with a roll of his eyes and a smile.

"The film has haunted my nightmares ever since," you giggled, reminiscing on the countless nightmares you had as a child.

"So you weren't scared when the face-hugger attached to Kane's face?"

"Oh I was, but I think I may have just cowered behind a pillow during that scene. Though, didn't make it any less scary..." you shrugged, "Though watching it now, I can stop hating it for being the scariest film of my childhood, and appreciate it for being a cinematic masterpiece. You bought the other two, right?"

"Yep. Also got the full Predator series, the two Alien vs. Predator films, the Blade Runner franchise and Prometheus, upon your request."

You grinned, "Whoop! Time to spend the next how many days watching these films back-to-back and getting countless nightmares!"

"Yeah, have fun with that."

As the film played on, you noticed that Noah had fallen asleep during it. You continued to watch it as Noah slept like a baby. The whole room was dark, besides the only light coming from the TV. You lay across the couch, occasionally reaching over to stuff some popcorn into your mouth or take a sip of your Pitt Cola.

About an hour and a half into the film, you had begun to feel sleepy. You laid across the couch on your side, watching the movie through half-lidded eyes. Though despite your tiredness, you did your best to keep your eyes open and keep watching the rest of the film. The jumpscares kept you from completely dozing off but now and then you had to keep rubbing your eyes.

The film played on, and it was nearing the end. Ripley was blowing up the ship and preparing to leave through the escape shuttle. Your eyes slowly began to close, not wanting to remain open.

**_'Don't fall asleep. I'm quite enjoying this.'_ **

Your eyes immediately snapped open as you sprang up. Any inclination to sleep immediately left your body as you sat up on the couch, looking around frantically. The fatigue made you skittish and jumpy, and as soon as you heard that same voice, your fight or flight response kicked in.

You kept looking around, trying to find the source of the voice, wanting to know who had gotten into the house and why they were talking to you. When you couldn't find a trace of anyone, you began to panic more, rather than relax.

**_'Woah, calm down. Your adrenaline levels are through the roof!'_ **

"W-Who?" you stuttered, looking around again, irrationally scared that someone or something was going to pop out of nowhere and grab you.

**_'Sit down and watch the film. I want to see if this ends with it biting her face off so don't fall asleep.'_ **

When you finally froze to properly listen to to the voice, you noticed that you couldn't hear it at all — not physically at least. The voice echoed through your mind — bold, foreign, intrusive thoughts. The voice was familiar, yet not so. You recognized it, but at the same time, it felt like it was from a distant, fabricated memory.

"You're in my head..." you muttered, trying to comprehend the situation. "Hey..." you said, trying to gain its attention. Yet there was no response. "Hey!" you shouted louder.

It was then you turned to your head to see Noah stir. He groaned and sent you a glare.

"Hey, stop yelling. You woke me up, dammit."

You didn't respond, glancing back at the TV. The credits had begun to play, and you headed out of the room and upstairs to the bathroom. You heard Noah call after you as soon as you bolted out of the room, but you again ignored him.

You switched on the light to the bathroom and shut the door behind you, walking over to the sink. You stared at your expression in the mirror for a few seconds, viewing your appearance. Not only did you look different, but you felt different too. It was a strange sensation. Your body felt heavy like it weighed an extra five pounds, and you felt compressed as if you were squished into a tight corner. You took a deep breath to calm yourself.

"Hey, _you_ ," you hissed, trying to provoke a reaction from the voice in your head, "I know you're there, don't go and hide on me now."

 ** _'I'm not hiding, shortstop. Just didn't think you would want your dear ol' cousin to see you talking to yourself. Guess he did anyway, but I'm not going to be held responsible for that,'_** they spoke. The tone was humorous but slightly mocking.

"Who are you?" you immediately cut to the chase, beginning an interrogation. Your hands gripped the edge of the sink, and your eyes glared at the taps.

**_'We only spoke last night, and you've already forgotten. Don't tell me you're always this hopeless.'_ **

" _Excuse me_? Answer the damn question!"

 ** _'Name's Bill, dream-demon from an alternate dimension, we met 22 hours ago, yada, yada. You're (Name) (Surname), and I made a deal with you last night. Ring any bells?'_** the tone had an underlying amount of sarcasm coated with a bored and almost tired and frustrated overlay.

You immediately picked up on what he said. You had your suspicions, but you were uncertain to believe it. The familiarity of his voice was there in your mind, but it refused to click. Your memory of the dream last night still had small holes in it, including the memory of the triangle's voice, up until now.

"My memory has been fuzzy..." you mumbled.

**_'Surely you would have seen this coming. You've gone your whole life, remembering and not remembering dreams. It's the same principle...sort of.'_ **

"'Sort of'?"

 ** _'I erased your memory of it for the day. Better to have you remember it in snippets, rather than all in one go. Couldn't have you running around, frantically flipping through pages of a book and letting it disrupt your day,'_** he replied, his tone having a humorous edge to it. It made you wonder how considerate the gesture really was.

"How thoughtful of you," you responded with a similar underlying sarcasm as his introductory statement. Though, despite your dry response, you were in some manner, genuinely thankful.

**_'It should fully wear off in an hour. By having the memory of it dumped on you — depending on how weak your mind is — you might have developed a minor brain tumor. How fickle of the human body.'_ **

You frowned at his last two statements but didn't comment. You looked up at your reflection in the mirror and grabbed your exfoliation bottles, deciding that you might as well remove your makeup while you were there.

"I have more questions," you stated, squirting the liquid onto your hand.

 ** _'Do you now?'_** he hummed, followed by a short sigh. ** _'Well, it's late. Finish removing the cosmetic, chemical compounds from your face, and we'll talk in the morning.'_**

You were unsatisfied with his response. You frowned as you rubbed the foundation from your cheek and hoped that Bill could see the glare that was reflected in the mirror. You were about to argue, but before you could form a single syllable, Bill stopped you.

**_'Your cousin is walking to his room as we speak. I assume you don't want him to see you talking to yourself again, so I think it's best if we just call it a day. You were dozing off back there, so don't say you're not tired.'_ **

You bit the inside of your cheek, knowing he was right but still feeling impatient. You were exhausted from staying up late, and the energy expelled during the day, but you were craving answers. Yet, your body was slightly hunched, and your eyes weren't entirely open. You wondered if he could sense it too.

"Fine then. But tomorrow, I need some questions answered."

**_'Done.'_ **

You involuntarily sighed in relief. In truth, you were expecting some sort of argument or for him to lay down some other reservations, yet it seemed that wasn't the case. Perhaps Bill was less of the mysterious type and more open?

Bill didn't speak anymore as you finished washing your face. When you left the bathroom and went back to your room to get changed. As you began to slip off your top, you quickly stopped yourself. You bit your lip and awkwardly glanced around the room.

"Uh, Bill?"

**_'Hm?'_ **

"I know we're saving questions until the morning, but I need to know this right here, right now. Can you see me?"

**_'Well, I can, in essence, only see through your eyes. I see what you see.'_ **

"Is that so?" you hummed. "Well, in that case, what am I looking at right now?"

 ** _'Right now, you are staring at a wall covered in horrible wallpaper, in a cramped room full of cheap human nick-knacks that are cluttering up the floor,'_** he replied simply. **_'Is that good enough for you?'_**

"Yes, it has. But if you said that wallpaper was lovely, I would have definitely called you out for bullshit," you joked with an approving smirk.

Bill snorted, ** _'Sure, sure.'_**

After a moment of reluctance, you closed your eyes and stripped out of your clothes. Despite knowing that Bill could only see through your eyes, it didn't do much to help you feel any more comfortable. When you were in the middle of sipping off your black bra, Bill began talking again.

 ** _'Though, I should mention that I can also feel what you feel,'_** Bill added out of the blue, causing your hand to fly from the left strap like it was a hot potato.

"What?" you gasped. "Why on earth did you say that sooner? _Jesus_ , you're the worst!"

**_'Calm down, toots! I'm indifferent to the typically hidden areas of the human body. What parts that you think are private are no concern of mine. Your social dress customs seem to change through place and time. A hundred years ago, it was taboo to show one's legs. Now, you see models walking up and down the runway wearing stuff that leaves little to the imagination. If human fashion isn't hard to keep up with, I don't know what is.'_ **

You stayed silent, still feeling uncomfortable. You agreed with his argument about human fashion, but it was hard to feel okay with the situation.

"You're correct in that. But I still feel uncomfortable. Are you able to just...switch off or something?"

Bill sighed, **_'Whatever makes you happy, toots. You do your thing, I'll see you in the morning.'_**

You slumped bit, feeing a massive weight lifted off your shoulders. You continued to get changed into your pajamas, switched off the lights, and closed the curtains after wishing Colin goodnight. You climbed into bed and got under the covers, feeling your body aching for sleep. It didn't take long to fall asleep. Soon, you drifted off into a dreamless rest.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

You let out a yawn and rubbed your eyes, walking down the steps to the kitchen. You were thankful that Noah hadn't woken you up that morning and that you were able to wake up naturally.

You checked the clock on the wall as you walked into the kitchen, seeing that it was 9:40. You grabbed some cereal and then began making a simple breakfast.

About five minutes later, you heard the door slide open in the dining room. You lazily leaned on the counter, eating your cereal as Noah came in, carrying a rake. You raised an eyebrow, as he walked over to the sink and poured himself a glass of water.

"Aren't you going to work today?" you asked.

"It's Saturday," he replied, giving you a sideways glance.

You blinked, not noticing that the second week had gone so quickly. You hadn't even realized that it was the weekend again and that the holiday was going way quicker than expected. It was almost going too quick.

"What's with the rake?" you asked, nodding your head to the thing in his hand, wondering why on earth he felt it was necessary to carry it inside with him.

Noah groaned, "Damn raccoons. I went outside this morning so that I could do some garden chores. When I went over to the shed, I found a burrow under it. I've spent all morning trying to chase them out."

"You couldn't just leave them alone?" you reasoned with a slight chuckle.

"Not when the damn burrow is the size of the Grand Canyon! Fuck, these creatures are the bane of my existence I swear to God..." he sighed, running his hand down his face. "And no doubt they'll be back. I'll have to cover it up until I find time to fill it."

"Hey, I still haven't seen your garden yet," you chirped with sudden realization.

"It's nothing to look at, I can assure you."

"I'm bored, and I'm curious anyway," you shrugged.

Noah just rolled his eyes and led you through the dining room and through the small conservatory, out into his garden. It wasn't the typical garden in a square shape, nor with any flowers or fences. In fact, it was somewhat messy and kind of plain. It was in an opening, with the forest trees around the perimeter, leading out into the forest. There was a glass greenhouse in the corner with a small wooden shed opposite it. There was also a small pile of logs next to the shed with an ax for woodcutting. Along the middle was a dirt path that led into the forest. It was unclear where it led, but you would no doubt find out soon enough.

Noah took you down the path and made a left, walking over to the shed. He led you around the back, where there was a long table with plant pots and long garden hoses cluttering it.

"Hmm...don't you get worried that just anyone can wander in here? I mean, there are no fences to keep anyone out," you remarked, looking around at the perimeter of the garden.

"Well as long as they can't get into the house and shed it doesn't bother me. No one comes around here anyway, and I doubt anyone would be interested in stealing a bunch of plant pots and bamboo sticks."

"Still, anyone could just start wandering around your garden. You don't find that the least bit unsettling?"

"Well, when it happens, I'll be sure to chase them away with my dad's old shotgun," he replied nonchalantly.

"I don't think you need to go that far, your presence is threatening enough," you responded with the same indifferent tone.

"I'll bear that in mind. There's the burrow," he said, pointing at the hole under the shed. It was reasonably big for a raccoon burrow, appearing quite deep and wide at the entrance. Though, despite its shocking size, it was nowhere near big enough for anything larger than a fox to fit through.

You walked over to the hole and peered down. You raised an eyebrow when your eye caught sight of something. You thought you could see something down there, but it was hard to tell from how dark it was. You began to reach down the hole, but you were stopped by a quiet snort. You whipped your head around to Noah, only to frown upon seeing his smug expression.

"No, no. Don't let me stop you," he smirked, holding his hands up in surrender.

"What's so funny?" you accused, retracing your hand.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that I don't think it's wise to shove your hand down a hole like that," he advised while you rose an eyebrow, hinting at him to elaborate. "I mean, who knows what's down there. God knows what you'll be touching, and God knows what could jump out and latch onto your hand. Take a funnel-web spider, for example!"

"I wasn't gonna just shove my hand down there, you idiot! I thought I saw something and I was just gonna try and..." you trailed off while Noah just looked at you with disbelief, "okay fine, I was gonna stupidly shove my hand down there! I wasn't thinking, okay? And uh...what was that about the spider?"

Noah smirked, leaning on the shed, "Well, funnel-web spiders are common in gardens. You have no idea when you could run into one. They're the most dangerous species of spider in the world, with a bite having a very potent venom that can kill someone within 15 minutes."

You paled, looking at him wide-eyed. Your eyes immediately flicked down to the hole, instantly leaping away from it like it was a feral wolf ready to pounce.

"Amazingly enough, these spiders don't even give you a warning bite, instead just going in for the kill right away. Their fangs are quite strong, letting them grip onto the skin, making them hard to flick off as they pump more venom into your bloodstream. Almost instantly, you'll have a searing pain, followed by a killer headache and tightness in the chest. You'll be taken to the hospital immediately. Sad to say, it's the males that can kill you, with most of them retreating to suburban areas in search of a mate. Which obviously happens during mating season which — wouldn't you know it — is around now in the summer," he hummed, finishing his explanation. "So, if I were you, I wouldn't be putting my hand down that hole. They like small little spaces, after all..."

You were as stiff as a board, staring wide-eyed at your cousin. You were as pale as a sheet while he just smirked down at you, relishing the moment. You looked back down at the burrow, backing away quickly while checking the area around you as an extra precaution, eyes rapidly flicking in every direction.

 ** _'Sounds like a real monster. You best be careful,'_** Bill remarked, snickering. You frowned at his laughter, finding it a bit suspicious, but you ignored it, mind too focused on your arachnophobia.

"Please tell me you're joking," you shivered, unconsciously wrapping your arms around yourself.

Noah shook his head, "Nope. Very much real."

"Oh, God, I should never have come here. First, the Black Widow, and now _this_?" you whimpered. "I'm done with the little demons! I want to get out of this country!"

Noah started laughing while you kept shivering, envisioning a giant spider, conjured up from nightmares. You looked back at Noah to see him swing an arm around your shoulders, laughter slowly dissipating into small giggles.

"Calm down; there's nothing to worried about! I was describing the Sydney Funnel-Web."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM—uh...Sydney...?" you muttered after interrupting yourself, looking up at Noah confused, thoughts running through your head a mile a minute. "Wait a minute...IT DOESN'T EVEN LIVE HERE, DOES IT?"

Noah fell into a fit of laughter again, shaking his head.

"YOU DICK! Do you have any idea— _ugh_! Fuck, you're the worst!

"Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't help myself! I suddenly remembered about your fear of spiders, and I wanted to see if you're still scared to death by 'em. Seems you still are," he chuckled.

"Dickhead."

"Look on the bright side, though! It lives in Australia, and it's nowhere near you. Now you can go back to worrying about the Black Widow!" he grinned.

"And that's supposed to make me feel _better_?"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's go back inside. I'm going to be out here all day so if you need something just shout."

You nodded as you followed Noah back to the house. Taking a small look back behind you, you saw a raccoon rush out of the brushes and desperately dive back into the burrow. You giggled, before turning back around. It looked like Noah would have his work cut out for him.

▲ △ ▼ ▽

"I'm going out!" you yelled, as you began walking over to the door. You heard Noah call back, acknowledging your departure as you closed it behind you, and walked outside.

You pulled your hoodie closer around your body as you walked straight ahead into the forest, not following the path to town. You silently walked across the grass, checking around for anyone nearby. Once you had gotten a further enough distance away from the house, you stopped. You checked around again, before letting out a short sigh.

"Okay, Bill, let's talk."

**_'Going for a little walk, I see.'_ **

"Time for you to start answering questions. Why are you suddenly talking to me through my mind? I don't recall that being part of the agreement."

You cut to the chase, crossing your arms for emphasis. You heard Bill faintly hum for a moment as if contemplating the decision of even replying to you. You let out a quiet, annoyed huff, waiting for his response. He always seemed so cheerful, and it bothered you.

 ** _'Well, we agreed that you and I would be spending some time together. So to respect my word, and to please you and your irrational suspicions, here I am!'_** he chirped. **_'Speaking through the mind is easy since it prevents anyone else intruding on our conversations, and I'll always be here regardless of where you go. Not to mention, this way, I don't have to offer a penny for your thoughts.'_**

"Okay, so to sum it up, you're just here to sit up in my head, give your opinion now and then and be here so that we can uh...learn about each other?" you grumbled, feeling unsure about how you felt about that notion, now that you were saying it out loud.

**_'More or less. I'm looking forward to this week! I'm really excited about getting to know each other. You certainly do light up the room!'_ **

"Uh, thanks," you slightly smiled, unconsciously glancing down at your clothes, wondering if that was what he was referring to. When you heard voices in the distance, you began walking further into the woods, finding comfort in walking while taking.

**_'My pleasure. I hope you've got some exciting activities planned. I'm not inclined to watch you veg on the couch for the full week.'_ **

You rolled your eyes, "Okay then. So why are you here, anyway? You said you needed to do something and needed my help, but you've yet to explain what that is."

 ** _'Well, as I mentioned before, I'm not from your dimension. Which, in turn, means I can't manifest myself into it. I lack a physical form, and I can't come to your world without a physical gateway. Therefore, since I can't be there in material form, I need someone else to be my body and gather some stuff for me,'_** he explained. Though, as clear as his explanation was, it only made way for more questions.

"Okay, so what and where is this stuff you want? And what do you need it for?"

 ** _'Most of the stuff is scattered around Gravity Falls. I would need you to retrieve them for me and be my little partner in crime for a while,'_** he warmly chuckled. A weird feeling rose in you, but you quickly brushed it off. **_'I'm working on a little science project. I'm creating something that could potentially change your world.'_**

"You somehow make it sound very shady," you commented wryly with a small smile.

Bill cheerfully chuckled, ** _'I suppose I do. But I'm not as shady as you think I am! I may be a demon, but I'm no way a malevolent being. I not danger to you or anyone else, I can promise you that.'_**

"Fine, but I still don't trust you yet...no offense," you awkwardly shugged, as you kept on walking through the trees.

 ** _'Whatever sails your boat, kid. I just thought I'd put it out there anyway. I don't blame you for having your guard up, but I do think you need to chill out a bit and let me at least prove that I'm not here to cause havoc or rearrange your teeth or something. Although...that idea does sound utterly hilarious!'_** he cackled while you frowned. ** _'Woah, it was a joke, kid! Calm down!'_** he giggled while you calmed down from your short, irrational moment of panic. You knew that this would take some getting used to.

You rolled your eyes and went back to the topic at hand, "So you're like an innovator or something?"

**_'Sure! I've been called other things like pioneer, inventor, interdimensional prodigy...lunatic — but you get the idea!'_ **

You walked over a large fallen tree over a small steam, playfully trying to keep your balance, amusing yourself as you talked. Though from Bill's humourous statement, you couldn't help the short giggle that escaped your throat before you continued, "I see! So besides that, who are you? Is this inventing thing like a hobby or full-time job of yours, or has it just been a spontaneous idea sparked by something small?"

 ** _'Well, unlike most entities — on Earth or not — I usually maintain frequent contact with humans. Not sound insulting, but your kind is extremely fickle so anything too beyond your limited comprehension would drive you to madness or something worse. So, something like me appearing before your very eyes would be unwise since, although you can comprehend me in this form right now, it's still not for the faint of heart. And many would gladly tell the world for whatever reason; whether it be fear, hopes that it would lead them to success or a craving for their fifteen minutes of fame. And, this would obviously lead to me having a lot of unnecessary attention from...well...just about every living person on your planet. And, I don't like the idea of that, much like any other entity that can make contact with your kind. So, here comes the contradiction — why am I here?'_** he asked, voice now calm but with an unfathomable edge to it. It was very different from the jolly tone he had before.

"What does this have to do with my question?" you asked frowning. It was just a simple question that should have had somewhat of a simple answer, yet Bill had managed to surprise you once again. You hoped that this wasn't his clever way of prevaricating since for better or for worse, he had successfully sparked your curiosity.

 ** _'I'm getting to it, doll. Don't worry!'_** he sighed. **_'So any guesses?'_**

You paused, thinking for a moment and trying to come up with a response, "Because you don't care?"

**_'Wrong! I just said that I don't want unnecessary attention. Try again.'_ **

"You're desperate?"

**_'Nope! There are other ways to go about this.'_ **

"Because you know who will say what and when?" you asked, following a short pause of contemplation, going off his boasting about being omniscient.

 ** _'Well yes...but I still have no control over what you do,'_** he replied simply, and you could almost feel the nonchalant shrug when he said that.

"You...like the risk?" you asked feeling more unsure about your response, quickly running out of ideas.

**_'Hmm...yes...but no.'_ **

"Well, that's all I can come up with! It makes no sense whatsoever, so why on earth are you asking me this?" you huffed, giving up. You folded your arms and leaned on a nearby tree, letting out a small sigh, not expecting the conversation to be this exhausting.

Bill snapped his fingers, ** _'And that right there is my point! Your human mind simply cannot come up with an answer that is even remotely close to the real reason! Humans were built only to absorb and understand particular bits of information. Why else do you think you can only use ten percent of your brain at a time? Forgive me for this, but that's less than pathetic! Imagine what you could do with the remaining ninety percent? You would be a much more advanced species if you just managed to apply yourselves more and—'_**

"Are you going to answer the question, or are you here to just insult my species?" you frowned, crossing your arms. You understood what he was saying about using ten percent of the brain, but you had read online that it was nothing short of a myth. But there again, if Bill was talking about it like that, then was there some truth to it? You were reluctant to dub him a more reliable source for information, but to was hard to believe that a creature that had lived for so long would be incompetent — something that Bill didn't strike you as, despite his dumb remarks. However, he could have easily been lying. You had no way of knowing whether what he said was true or not, so you decided that for now, you would take his word for it, not wanting to get ahead of yourself. Lie detection could wait.

 ** _'Fine, fine! Anyway, what you said was just about as correct as you could ever get. I make no sense whatsoever, and that's the first lesson you've learned about me! If this is ever going to work, don't ask silly questions that have logical roots and logical answers! Oh damn, look at us now! We're already getting to know each other!'_** Bill exclaimed with glee, while you stupidly stood there, lost and bewildered.

_'What?'_

You were speechless, and you just gazed at the ground, blinking slowly. You could hear Bill's faint chuckle echoing through your mind as it tried to block out the sentient thoughts and wrap itself around what Bill had just been going on about.

"You give funny answers," you commented, nose wrinkling up in bewilderment and frustration, "so which are you then?"

**_'Isn't it obvious?'_ **

"Uh... _no_?" you replied with a look of aversion and bewilderment. You rubbed your aching temples in frustration. You had been talking to Bill for fifteen minutes, and you felt like you were already beginning to fry your brain cells. It seemed that alone only reinforced what he was saying about using ten percent of your brain. You wanted to kick yourself for proving him right a minute after he made his point.

**_'Right...I forget that I have to spell everything out for you lot. Your lives would be so much easier if you understood the Glisian Thetis,' he sighed. 'The point is — as dopey as your species can be — I'm here to help. I have the power to advance you into the new era where you can reach out to the universe and learn about the wonders of it. I've been advancing your planet for as long as it has been in existence and now I'm advancing it again. In your words, my new plan is both a combination of ideas formed by my 'hobby' and a 'spontaneous idea sparked by something small.' So, in other words...'_ **

_'He's not asking what I think he's asking is he...?'_ you thought, staring ahead at the glistening stream, awestruck. You waited in anticipation for his next words, wondering.

_**'Wanna harness that ninety percent?'** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~IMPORTANT~
> 
> Hey guys! Sorry for the late chapter! This took a bit of thinking so I had to go over certain lines and dialogue over and over so that unfortunately slowed down the process.
> 
> I have been spending the holiday proofreading and changing the previous chapters, so that is why this chapter was a bit late. I haven't finished updates since the chapters are so long, but eventually, I'll get there! I plan to update the chapters all in one go so just stay patient until they come. I will make sure to publish an A/N chapter with the full details on the new updates. I doubt you'll miss it because you'll probably mistake it for a chapter, haha! So when the time comes you can go check the older chapters out for the changes and the details will be listed so you can be aware of how the changes may have altered the plot to a small degree. This has happened due to new ideas coming to me for the plot so don't be too alarmed by this. For some of you, it may be best if you reread the updated chapters when they come out!
> 
> I have been able to update the prologue, and I have added a new section to it! Definitely go check that out since it's an interaction between Charlotte and Reader! It may give you a better insight into their relationship and Reader's character. Enjoy!
> 
> To celebrate the 100 kudos on this story and as a personal thank you to all of you, I have added something to the Cipher Psychosis series! Go check it out by clicking the CP series! If you are interested in anything else that could come out connected to this story, go bookmark that whole series! I will occasionally be publishing other things like prequels, songs, lullabies, non-canon stories or AUs, etc. Happy reading, folks!

**Author's Note:**

> ⚠️Mature Warning! This story contains graphic descriptions of violence and gore, explicit sexual content, strong language, and imitable behavior. This story is not suitable for children or sensitive readers! Predicted age rating for this story is +17. This warning may change! Read at your own risk!⚠️
> 
> Cover created by me, image featured in the cover is not mine.  
> Gravity Falls © Alex Hirsch.  
> (Name) © You.  
> OCs © YandereswithKnives.
> 
> © 2018- YANDERESWITHKNIVES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
> 
> QRZ WKDW JUDYLWB IDOOV DQG HDUWK EHFDPH VNB, RWKHUV PXVW QRZ IHDU WKH EHDVW ZLWK MXVW RQH HBH.


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